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BY    PROF.    AUGUSTUS    H.    GILL 

OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS   INSTITUTE  OF   TECHNOLOGY 

ENGINE  ROOM  CHEMISTRY 

BY  HUBERT   E.   COLLINS 

BOILERS  KNOCKS  AND  KINKS 

SHAFT  GOVERNORS  PUMPS 

ERECTING  WORK  SHAFTING,    PULLEYS     AND 
PIPES  AND  PIPING  BELTING 

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THE    POWER    HANDBOOKS 

SHAFT  GOVERNORS 

CENTRIFUGAL  AND  INERTIA 

SIMPLE    METHODS    FOR    THE    ADJUSTMENT    OF 
ALL  CLASSES  OF  SHAFT  GOVERNORS 

COMPILED  AND  WRITTEN 
BY 

HUBERT    E.    COLLINS 


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UNIVERSITY 

OF 


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The  best  library  for  the  engineer  and  the  man  who  hopes 
to  be  one. 

This  book  is  one  of  them.  They  are  all  good  —  and 
they  cost 

$  1.00.  postpaid  per  volume.     (English  price  4/6  postpaid.) 

SOLD  SEPARATELY   OR  IN  SETS 


BY    PROF.    AUGUSTUS    H.    GILL 

OF  THE  MASSACHUSETTS   INSTITUTE  OF   TECHNOLOGY 

ENGINE  ROOM  CHEMISTRY 

BY  HUBERT   E.   COLLINS 

BOILERS  KNOCKS  AND  KINKS 

SHAFT  GOVERNORS  PUMPS 

ERECTING  WORK  SHAFTING,    PULLEYS     AND 
PTW.S    AND  PIPING  BELTING 


THE    POWER    HANDBOOKS 

SHAFT  GOVERNORS 

CENTRIFUGAL  AND  INERTIA 

SIMPLE    METHODS    FOR    THE    ADJUSTMENT    OF 
ALL  CLASSES  OF  SHAFT  GOVERNORS 

COMPILED  AND  WRITTEN 
BY 

HUBERT    E.    COLLINS 


<<y 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

£AUf( 


1908 
HILL    PUBLISHING    COMPANY 

505  PEARL   STREET,  NEW  YORK 

G  BOUVERIE  STREET,  LONDON,  E.G. 

American  Machinist  —  Power  —  The  Engineering  and  Mining  Journal 


Copyright,     1908,    KY    THE      HlLI.      Pt  RI.ISHIXC;      COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


Hill  Publishing  Company,  New  Tork,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I     EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SHAFT  GOVERNOR i 

II     GENERAL  DEFINITIONS  AND  RULES        25 

III  ADJUSTING  THE  RITES  INERTIA  GOVERNOR       ...  33 

IV  THE  BUCKEYE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR  AND  ITS  ADJUST- 

MENT   42 

V    STRAIGHT-LINE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR 67 

VI    IDEAL  ENGINE  GOVERNORS 70 

VII    ADJUSTMENT  OF  FLEMING  ENGINE  GOVERNORS     .      .  74 

VIII    MclNTOSH,  SEYMOUR  &  Co.'s  ENGINE  GOVERNOR      .  80 

IX      ROBB-ARMSTRONG-SWEET    GOVERNOR 92 

X    THE  FITCHBURG  STEAM-ENGINE  GOVERNOR         .      .  94 
XI    THE  AMERICAN-BALL  BALANCED  AUTOMATIC  GOVER- 
NOR   97 

XII    CURTIS  STEAM  TURBINE  GOVERNORS    .      .  •   .      .      .  104 

XIII     CHANGING  THE  SPEED  OF  PENDULUM  GOVERNORS  m 


196488 


INTRODUCTION 

THIS  book  is  made  up  from  material  originally 
published  in  Power,  together  with  some  special  articles 
which  have  been  prepared  to  make  it  a  complete 
handbook  of  the  subject.  The  fact  that  nowhere  in 
a  single  book  can  all  of  this  material  be  found  in  a 
form  which  will  be  useful  to  the  practical  engineer, 
will,  it  is  hoped,  make  the  book  of  special  interest  and 
value. 

The  compiler  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  indebted- 
ness to  a  number  of  men  who  have  contributed  brief 
articles  to  Power  and  furnished  him  with  special  in- 
formation regarding  the  various  types  of  governors. 

HUBERT  E.  COLLINS. 

NEW  YORK,  September,  1908. 


vii 


SHAFT  GOVERNORS 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SHAFT  GOVERNOR.* 

THE  development  of  the  shaft  governor  has  been  a 
slow  and  steady  one  in  this  country,  commencing  prob- 
ably in  1829,  or  possibly  even  later.  It  is  quite  prob- 
able that  for  a  long  time  this  governor  met  with  little 
or  no  practical  application,  as  it  is  a  fact  which  will 
appear  later  that  the  period  of  its  practical  applica- 
tion can  hardly  be  said  to  have  begun  before  1876. 
Since  that  time  the  growth  infuse  of  this  governor  in 
this  country  has  been  remarkable  and  many  forms 
have  been  produced,  all  of  which  possess  more  or  less 
merit.  In  England  this  governor  seems  to  be  scarcely 
known  to-day,  judging  at  least  from  the  literature  on 
the  subject,  while  on  the  continent  of  Europe  its  use 
is  also  very  limited. 

My  sources  of  information  regarding  the  develop- 
ment of  the  shaft  governor  are  principally  to  be  found 
in  the  literature  relating  to  the  steam  engine,  which 
has  been  published  from  time  to  time  during  the  last 
thirty  or  forty  years,  and  in  the  records  of  the  United 
States  patent  office. 

The  general   works   relating  to  the   steam  engine, 

*  Paper  read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Engine  Builders'  Association,  New  York, 
December,  1001,  by  R.  C.  Carpenter. 

I 


2  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

with  the  exception  of  a  few  American  works  in  late 
years,  contain  very  little  in  relation  to  the  shaft  gov- 
ernor. So  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  all  the  works  published 
by  English  authors,  even  up  to  a  very  late  date,  are 
entirely  silent  on  this  subject;  thus,  for  instance,  the 
work  on  the  steam  engine  by  Prof.  John  Perry,  written 
in  1899,  while  devoting  a  full  chapter  to  the  subject 
of  the  fly-wheel  and  governor,  and  while  describing  in 
full  the  theory  and  various  forms  of  the  pendulum 
governor,  is  absolutely  silent  regarding  the  shaft 
governor.  So  far  as  I  can  learn  from  the  literature 
which  has  been  printed  in  England  regarding  the  steam 
engine,  any  student  obtaining  his  information  from 
such  books  would  know  nothing  whatever  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  shaft  governor. 

The  French  writers  on  the  subject  of  the  steam 
engine  do  give  considerable  information  relating  to 
the  subject  of  the  shaft  governor;  the  governor  is, 
however,  invariably  described  as  an  American  inven- 
tion which  is  used  on  certain  American  engines,  and 
one  obtains  the  idea  from  such  a  description  that  the 
governor  is  little  used  in  France. 

American  books  relating  to  the  structure  of  the 
steam  engine  published  twenty-five  years  ago  entirely 
neglect  the  existence  of  such  a  governing  device,  and 
it  seems  quite  probable  that  although  the  shaft  gov- 
ernor was  used  twenty-five  years  ago  to  a  very  limited 
extent,  it  had  not,  at  that  time,  made  a  sufficiently 
strong  impression  on  writers  as  to  lead  them  to  con- 
sider that  it  was  a  practical  device.  As  illustrations 
of  this  kind,  we  note  a  few  instances.  Thus,  Knight's 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SHAFT  GOVERNOR     3 

Mechanical  Dictionary,  published  in  1877,  is  a  work 
devoted  to  explaining  the  structure  of  various  machines 
and  prime  movers,  and  has  never  been  surpassed  or 
even  equaled  in  its  particular  field.  This  work  de- 
scribes in  detail  the  structure  of  a  large  number  of 
governing  devices  and  presents  a  full-page  illustra- 
tion showing  the  forms  of  governors  supposed  to  be 
of  practical  value.  (Fig.  i.)  You  will  notice  that 
some  twenty-three  different  forms  are  shown,  all, 
however,  of  the  type  known  as  the  rotating  or  swing- 
ing pendulum  governors,  and  none  belong  to  the  class 
which  it  is  the  object  of  my  paper  to  describe. 
In  Appleton's  Encyclopaedia  of  Applied  Mechanics, 
published  in  1878,  and  edited  by  the  ablest  corps  of 
specialists  ever  employed  at  that  date  in  this  country, 
is  a  very  full  and  complete  article  on  the  steam  engine^ 
but  it  makes  no  reference  whatever  to  the  use  of  the 
shaft  governor,  which  was  perhaps  inexcusable  at 
that  date,  as  a  shaft  governor  was  exhibited  at  the 
Centennial  Exposition  in  1876. 

The  oldest  book  which  I  have  in  my  library  con- 
taining references  to  the  shaft  governor  is  "Steam 
Using;  or,  Steam  Engine  Practice,"  written  by  Prof. 
Charles  A.  Smith,  of  St.  Louis,  in  1885.  In  this  work 
are  published  detailed  drawings  of  a  Westinghouse 
engine,  and  also  a  Buckeye  engine,  and  each  is  shown 
with  a  shaft  governor.  I  have  no  information  at 
hand  which  enables  me  to  state  the  earliest  dates  at 
which  these  companies  commenced  the  building  of 
shaft  governors  on  a  commercial  scale,  nor  am  I  cer- 
tain but  that  other  engine  companies  introduced  the 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


FIG.    I 


EVOLUTION   OF   THE   SHAFT   GOVERNOR 


5 


use  of  the  governor  at  a  somewhat  earlier  date.  Views 
of  these  governors  as  given  in  Professor  Smith's  work 
are  shown  in  Figs.  2  and  3.  At  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition at  Philadelphia,  held  in  1876,  Prof.  John  E. 
Sweet  showed  an  engine  fitted  with  a  shaft  governor 
which  had  been  built  under  his  supervision  by  stu- 


FIG.    2 


dents  in  the  shops  of  Cornell  University.  This  ex- 
hibition seems  to  have  been  the  inspiration  which 
resulted  in  the  construction  of  the  shaft  governor  by 
many  manufacturers,  and  the  governor  shown  (Fig.  4) 
was  the  pioneer  in  the  later  period  of  development  of 
this  important  invention. 

This  was  not  the  first  engine  constructed  by  Professor 
Sweet,  but  was,  I  believe,  engine  No.  3.  This  Cen- 
tennial engine  is  still  preserved  in  the  Museum  of  Sibley 
College,  although  the  original  governor  was  long  ago 


6  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

removed.  The  original  governor  was  temporarily 
removed  in  1889  to  carry  on  some  experimental  work 
with  governors  of  a  different  design  on  the  same  engine. 
Some  of  the  parts  of  the  governor  were  broken  and  it 
has  never  been  possible  to  restore  them  in  the  original 
condition.  The  shaft  governor  on  the  Centennial  en- 
gine was  very  different  in  construction  from  the  later 


ones  designed  by  Professor  Sweet  and  from  the  one 
now  used  on  the  Straight  Line  engine.  The  valve- 
rod  was  connected  to  an  eccentric  through  the  medium 
of  a  geared  disk. 

In  later  constructions  of  the  governor  applied  to 
the  Straight  Line  engine,  the  valve  is  connected  to  a 
swinging  eccentric  by  link  motions. 

My  study  of  the  literature  of  the  subject  would  in- 


EVOLUTION   OF  THE   SHAFT   GOVERNOR 


7 


dicate  that  the  shaft  governor  is  at  least,  so  far  as  its 
practical  application  is  concerned,  strictly  an  Ameri- 
can invention,  and  furthermore,  this  invention  has 
not  been  introduced  to  any  great  extent,  even  at  the 
present  time  in  Europe,  while  in  England  its  use  is  so 
limited  that  English  writers  of  text-books  have  not 
considered  it  of  sufficient  importance  to  merit  any 


FIG.   4 


mention.  In  this  country  the  steam  engine  governor 
has  followed  the  course  of  every  great  invention  in  its 
development;  it  has  been  developed,  not  by  a  single 
person  or  as  a  single  invention,  but  rather  by  the  slow 
and  tedious  process  of  experiment  and  practice.  As 
in  the  steam  engine  itself,  we  find,  doubtless,  first  a 
period  of  speculation,  during  which  time  theoretical 
investigations  were  made  and  patents  taken  out,  and 
this  period  probably  extended  until  about  1870;  then 
comes  a  period  of  application,  beginning  in  a  small 


8  SHAFT    GOVERNORS 

way  perhaps  with  1870  and  extending  through  the 
next  fifteen  years,  during  which  time  numerous  appli- 
cations of  various  forms  were  made,  tried  with  greater 
or  less  success,  modified  and  improved  until  finally  a 
high  degree  of  perfection  has  been  reached. 

The  earlier  form  of  governor  and  the  one  which  is 
almost  exclusively  used  in  England  and  other  European 
countries  to-day  was  invented  by  James  Watt,  or  at 
least  adapted  for  use  on  the  steam  engine  by  Watt. 

It  is  hardly  probable  that  Watt  ever  considered 
himself  as  the  inventor  of  the  governor  for  regulating 
the  speed  of  an  engine,  for  the  reason  that  I  do  not 
find  this  invention  claimed  in  any  of  his  patents  and, 
judging  from  the  character  of  the  claims  made  in  his 
numerous  patents,  Watt  was  not  the  kind  of  a  man  to 
omit  protecting  himself  for  any  of  his  inventions. 

In  the  life  of  Watt,  by  Muirhead,  it  is  stated  that 
for  the  purpose  of  regulating  the  speed  of  the  engine 
Mr.  Watt  tried  various  methods,  but  at  last  fixed  upon 
what  he  called  the  "governor,"  consisting  of  a  per- 
pendicular axis  turned  by  the  engine;  to  a  joint  near 
the  top  of  this  axis  is  suspended  two  iron  rods  carrying 
heavy  balls  of  metal  at  their  lower  ends,  in  the  nature  of 
pendulums.  When  this  axis  is  put  in  motion  by  the 
engine  the  balls  recede  from  the  perpendicular  by  the 
centrifugal  force,  and,  by  means  of  a  combination  of 
levers  fixed  on  their  upper  end,  raise  the  end  of  a  lever 
which  acts  upon  the  spanner  of  the  throttle-valve  and 
shuts  it  more  or  less  according  to  the  speed  of  the  en- 
gine, so  that  as  the  velocity  augments  the  valve  is 
shut,  until  the  speed  of  the  engine  and  the  opening 


EVOLUTION   OF   THE   SHAFT    GOVERNOR  9 

of  the  valve  come  to  a  maximum  and  balance  each 
other.  The  application  of  the  centrifugal  principle 
was  not  a  new  invention,  but  had  been  applied  by 
others  to  the  regulation  of  water  and  windmills  and 
other  things;  but  Mr.  Watt  improved  the  mechanism 
by  which  it  acted  upon  the  machines  and  adapted  it 
to  his  engines. 

Such,  says  M.  Arago  in  describing  Mr.  Watt's  appli- 
cation to  the  steam  engine  of  the  governor  or  regulator 
by  centrifugal  force,  was  its  efficacy,  that  there  was  to 
be  seen  at  Manchester  a  few  years  ago,  in  the  cotton 
mill  of  Mr.  Lee,  a  man  of  great  mechanical  talents,  a 
clock  which  was  set  in  motion  by  the  steam  engine 
used  in  the  work,  and  which  marked  time  very  well, 

|  even  beside  a  common  pendulum  clock. 

The  principle  of  action  of  the  simple  governor  of 

j  the  revolving  pendulum  type  can  be  expressed  by  an 

|  equation  as  follows: 


"  t? 

from  which 


n6  -  - 


n  =  ±J-j- 

27r y    h 


g    _  constant 

~~~ 


In  this  equation  n  equals  the  number  of  turns  per 
second,  v  the  velocity  in  feet  per  second,  r  the  horizon- 
tal projection  of  the  arm  of  the  pendulum,  h  the  vertical 
projection  of  the  arm  of  the  pendulum,  g  the  force  of 
gravity.  These  equations  are  well  known  and  the  ex- 


10  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

planation  of  their  derivation  can  be  found  in  any  treatise 
on  the  subject.  It  is  noted  that  the  position  of  the 
governor  balls  which  are  determined  by  the  quantity  h 
does  not  vary  with  the  speed  of  the  engine  which  is 
represented  by  the  smybol  n,  but  varies  with  the  square 
of  the  speed  of  n2,  consequently  a  governor  of  the  simple 
pendulum  type  cannot  be  made  so  as  to  give  a  per- 
fectly uniform  motion  without  some  change  in  form 
or  construction  not  known  to  Watt.  To  make  the 
revolving  pendulum  isochronous  in  its  action  many 
devices  have  been  brought  out,  and  while  these  have 
in  a  great  measure  improved  its  action,  none  of  them 
have  been  entirely  successful.  The  pendulum  gov- 
ernor has  been  much  improved  by  arranging  it  to  lift 
a  weight  and  also  by  crossing  the  arms  of  the  pendu- 
lum and  arranging  their  point  of  suspension  to  one 
side  of  the  axis.  By  these  arrangements  the  distance 
passed  through  by  the  moving  parts  of  the  governor 
becomes  very  nearly  proportional  to  the  change  in 
motion  of  the  engine.  These  governors  have  also 
been  constructed  so  as  to  utilize  the  force  of  springs 
instead  of  that  of  gravity  to  counteract  the  effect  of 
the  centrifugal  force. 

The  revolving  pendulum  governor  has  usually  been 
constructed  to  regulate  the  speed  by  being  attached 
to  a  throttle-valve  in  the  steam-pipe,  which  was  opened 
or  closed  as  desired.  It  has,  however,  been  employed 
in  a  few  cases  to  regulate  the  motion  of  the  engine  by 
changing  the  travel  of  the  steam-valve  through  the 
medium  of  a  link  motion,  and  in  the  drop  cut-off  class 
of  engines  to  regulate  the  speed  by  unlocking  the  valve 


EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SHAFT  GOVERNOR    n 

* 

mechanism  so  as  to  permit  closing,  as  in  the  Corliss 
type  of  engine. 

Where  the  regulation  is  accomplished  by  throttling 
the  steam  supply,  poor  results  are  generally  obtained 
for  reasons  entirely  independent  of  the  action  of  the 
governor,  since  necessarily  more  or  less  time  must 
elapse  before  the  proper  amount  of  steam  to  give  the 
desired  speed  can  be  made  to  pass  through  a  throttled 
orifice.  The  throttling  governor  as  usually  constructed 
in  this  country  has  not  been  of  the  highest  type  of 
workmanship,  nor  has  it  accomplished  all  of  the  results 
in  regulation  which  would  have  been  possible  with 
governors  of  its  type  and  class,  made  with  better  design 
and  workmanship. 

The  formula  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
made  does  not  consider  the  retarding  effect  of  friction. 
There  is  perhaps  nothing  so  important  in  its  effect  on 
results  of  regulation  as  friction,  which  always  acts  to 
resist  any  moving  force;  it  tends  to  prevent  the  gov- 
ernor balls  from  moving  to  their  true  position  whether 
the  motion  of  the  engine  is  too  fast  or  too  slow,  and  con- 
sequently it  becomes  responsible  for  irregular  action  of 
the  governor  and  for  much  of  the  imperfect  regulation. 
It  is,  however,  important  to  note  that  the  revolving 
pendulum  governor  is  not  theoretically  perfect,  and 
aside  from  imperfections  of  construction  and  design 
it  cannot  be  made  to  give  a  perfectly  uniform  motion 
to  the  engine. 

In  the  shaft  governor  we  find  in  every  case  a  weight 
supported  by  an  arm  or  arranged  to  move  in  guides 
connected  to  a  revolving  fly-wheel,  so  that  the  centrif- 


12  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

ugal  force  tends  to  throw  it  away  from  the  center.  A 
spring  is  employed  to  counteract  the  effect  of  centrif- 
ugal force  and  is  so  arranged  as  to  restore  the  weights 
to  the  normal  position  when  the  engine  comes  to  rest. 
In  this  governor  the  centrifugal  force  tends  to  throw 
the  weighted  portions  outward  and  toward  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  revolving  wheel,  whereas  the  spring 
tends  to  draw  the  weight  inward  and  counteracts  the 
centrifugal  force,  holding  the  governor  in  such  position 
as  to  maintain  uniform  speed.  By  properly  propor- 
tioning and  arranging  the  weights  and  the  spring,  it 
is  entirely  possible  to  make  a  governor  of  this  class  so 
that  its  parts  will  move  directly  proportional  to  any 
change  of  speed  of  the  engine,  and  consequently  it 
will  take  such  a  position  as  will  tend  to  keep  the  mo- 
tion perfectly  uniform  regardless  of  other  conditions. 
In  other  words,  it  is  possible  to  make  a  governor  of 
this  class  which  will  give  theoretically  uniform  motion. 
The  tendency  of  a  moving  body  to  continue  its 
motion  uniformly  has  been  well  known  since  the  time 
of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  and  is  generally  known  as  the 
"principle  of  inertia."  It  has  been  recognized  from 
the  earliest  times  in  the  art  of  steam  engine  building 
that  heavy  fly-wheels  conduced  to  uniformity  of  motion 
because  of  the  inertia  of  the  parts.  This  uniformity 
of  motion  is  a  well-known  function  of  the  weight  of 
the  fly-wheel.  Consequently  it  has  been  the  practice 
for  years  to  use  heavy  fly-wheels  where  a  uniform 
motion  is  desired,  and  even  at  the  present  time  we 
have  found  no  system  of  regulation  which  entirely 
permits  us  to  do  away  with  that  produced  by  the  inertia 


EVOLUTION   OF   THE   SHAFT   GOVERNOR  13 

of  heavy  weights.  The  irregular  motion  produced  by 
the  intermittent  action  of  the  steam  on  the  piston 
can  be  very  largely  reduced  to  a  uniform  action  by 
the  use  of  an  extremely  heavy  fly-wheel  and  the  minute 
variations  in  speed  can  probably  be  controlled  by  no 
other  method.  As  the  engine  is  made  to  revolve  at 
a  higher  speed  the  impulses  are  made  at  greater  rapidity 
and  consequently  a  fly-wheel  of  smaller  weight  can  be 
employed  for  the  same  degree  of  uniformity  of  motion. 
The  shaft  governor  could,  of  course,  be  connected  to 
a  throttle  of  a  steam  engine  and  would  in  that  case 
produce  results  superior  to  any  of  the  revolving  pen- 
dulum governors,  but  such  an  application  has,  so  far, 
as  I  know,  never  been  attempted.  The  governor  has 
been  universally  connected  through  the  medium  of 
rods  and  links  directly  to  the  main  or  auxiliary  valve 
which  regulates  the  supply  of  steam  to  the  engine. 
The  advantage  gained  by  this  construction  is  that  of 
admitting  steam  of  full  power  behind  the  piston  at 
each  stroke,  and  thus  giving  the  full  benefits  of  ex- 
pansion of  the  steam  in  its  work. 

This  advantage  is  great  and  will  result  under  usual 
conditions  in  a  marked  improvement  in  economy,  as 
compared  with  a  throttling  engine  otherwise  the  same. 
I  had  an  opportunity  once  of  testing  two  engines,  one 
automatic,  the  other  throttling,  both  in  excellent  con- 
dition, doing  alternately  the  same  work.  The  results, 
which  I  do  not  have  here  in  full,  showed  slightly  over 
12  per  cent,  in  favor  of  the  economy  of  the  automatic 
engines,  yet  the  conditions  I  considered  as  favorable 
as  possible  for  the  throttling  construction. 


I4  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

The  shaft  governor  has  proved  itself  to  be  especially 
adapted  for  engines  moving  at  a  comparatively  high 
speed  of  rotation.  The  results  produced  in  the  way 
of  regulation  in  engines  of  this  type  have  been  in  some 
instances  simply  remarkable,  as  it  has  been  found 
entirely  possible  to  produce  a  governor  which  would 
hold  the  engine  to  the  same  number  of  revolutions  per 
minute,  whether  the  engine  were  running  light  or 
loaded,  or  whether  the  load  were  suddenly  or  slowly 
applied  or  removed. 

The  shaft  governor,  revolving  as  it  does  with  the 
shaft  of  the  engine,  is  affected  by  the  inertia  of  its 
particles  in  the  same  manner  as  the  revolving  fly-wheel. 
The  governor  parts  may  be  arranged  so  that  this 
inertia  effect  may  tend  to  make  its  action  quicker,  in 
which  case  the  regulation  of  the  engine  would  be 
improved,  or  it  may  be  arranged  so  as  to  have  the 
reverse  effect,  in  which  case  the  regulation  of  the 
engine  would  be  worse  than  before.  This  effect  of 
inertia  on  the  part  of  the  governor  and  its  use  for 
improving  the  regulation  was  not  recognized  until  the 
shaft  governor  had  been  pretty  well  developed,  but  a 
study  of  the  drawings  of  some  of  the  early  types  of 
governors  show  that  they  were  constructed  and  oper- 
ated in  such  manner  as  to  have  the  full  benefit  of 
inertia  to  aid  in  the  regulation.  This  seems  to  have 
been  notably  true  in  the  case  of  the  governor  shown 
by  Professor  Sweet  at  the  Centennial  Exposition. 

The  records  of  the  American  Patent  Office  in  refer- 
ence to  the  shaft  governor  are  of  much  interest,  but 
time  will  not  permit  any  extended  reference  to  these 


EVOLUTION   OF   THE   SHAFT   GOVERNOR          15 

records.  A  few  of  the  earlier  patents  are,  however, 
considered  of  so  much  importance  that  drawings  are 
submitted  and  quite  full  references  are  given.  These 
early  patents  do  not,  probably,  represent  any  practical 
application,  but  they  are  interesting  as  showing  a 
complete  understanding,  not  only  of  the  theory  of  the 
shaft  governor,  but  of  methods  of  application  to 
practical  work. 
The  earliest  reference  which  I  have  been  able  to 


FIG.   5 


find  to  the  shaft  governor  is  shown  in  a  patent  granted 
J.  D.  Custer,  June  21,  1839  (Figs.  5  and  6).  From 
these  it  will  be  seen  that  it  consisted  of  two  balls  or 
weights  symmetrically  disposed  in  the  fly-wheel  and  in 
gravity  balance  and  pivoted  to  radial  arms  and  con- 
nected by  links  with  the  eccentric  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  action  of  the  centrifugal  force  would  cause 
the  balls  to  fly  out,  and  this  action  would  twist  the 


i6 


SHAFT    GOVERNORS 


eccentric  on  its  center  so  as  to  reduce  the  travel  of 
the  valve.  The  action  of  the  centrifugal  force  was 
opposed  by  a  flat  spring.  The  drawing  indicates  a 
form  of  a  governor  which  should  have  been  of  practical 
utility,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  find,  however,  that 
the  governor  patented  by  Custer  was  ever  put  into 


FIG.   6 

practical  use.  It  is  quite  certain  that  this  invention 
did  not  produce  any  great  change  in  the  art  of  building 
steam  engines,  as  the  shaft  governor  seems  to  have 
been  practically  unknown  for  nearly  a  third  of  a  century 
after  this  date. 

The  next  governor  patent  to  be  granted  was  to  Lewis 
Eikenberry,  of  Philadelphia,  April  i,  1862  (Fig.  7). 
The  patent  was  given  principally  for  an  improvement 
in  variable  cut-off  valves,  in  which  the  valve  motion 


EVOLUTION    OF    THE    SHAFT    GOVERNOR         17 

was  regulated  by  use  of  a  cam.  The  shaft  governor 
shown  was  of  peculiar  type,  in  which  the  pivots  or  the 
arms  to  which  the  balls  were  fastened  were  in  the 
plane  of  the  revolving  wheel  so  that  the  centrifugal 
force  carried  the  balls  into  a  position  at  an  angle  to 
the  plane  of  the  wheel  and  nearly  parallel  to  the  shaft. 


FIG.   7 

This  form  of  governor  should  have  been  efficient  and 
effective,  but  it  doubtless  would  have  proved  not  prac- 
ticable to  apply  in  numerous  cases.  The  next  governor 
patent  was  granted  to  Joab  H.  Wooster,  August  20, 
1867,  of  which  no  picture  is  shown,  of  the  same  general 
type  as  that  granted  to  J.  D.  Custer;  in  this  patent, 
however,  the  eccentric  was  arranged  so  as  to  fit  loosely 
upon  the  shaft  and  was  connected  to  the  governor  in 
such  a  manner  that  it  would  swing  past  the  center  of 


l8  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

the  shaft,  thus  changing  the  lead  of  the  valve.  The 
construction  shown  in  the  patent  granted  for  this  gov- 
ernor would  probably  have  resulted  in  a  partial  success, 
but  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  evidence  which  would 
show  whether  or  not  this  governor  was  put  into  prac- 
tical operation. 

The  next  patents  in  order,  to  which  we  will  refer 
only  by  name,  were  as  follows:  Samuel  Stanton,  New- 
burg,  N.  Y.,  July  14,  1868;  D.  A.  Woodbury,  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  May  31,  1870,  and  also  September  27,  1870.  In 
the  latter  patent,  which  shows  a  governor  used  later 
in  the  well-known  Woodbury  engine,  a  distinct  state- 
ment is  made  in  the  specifications  regarding  the  effect 
of  inertia  on  the  parts  of  the  governor,  and  the  arrange- 
ment is  made  so  that  inertia,  as  well  as  centrifugal 
force,  is  employed  for  governing  purposes. 

The  next  patent  in  order  was  granted  to'Joseph  W. 
Thompson,  Salem,  Ohio,  July  15,  1872,  and  which, 
with  a  later  one  granted  April  27,  1875,  and  still 
another  on  January  18,  1878,  forms  the  basis  of  con- 
struction which  has  been  used  so  long  and  with  such 
excellent  results  in  the  Buckeye  engine. 

In  chronological  order  patents  were  granted  to  John 
C.  Hoadley,  October  28,  1873,  and  March  17,  1874,  for 
shaft  governors,  both  of  which  were  practically  used 
on  the  Hoadley  engine. 

From  this  time  on  patents  on  shaft  governors  are 
exceedingly  numerous  and  cover  different  forms  of 
mechanical  devices  and  different  methods  of  applica- 
tion of  mechanical  principles.  The  improvements  of 
a  later  date  are  generally  of  a  nature  which  resulted 


EVOLUTION    OF   THE   SHAFT    GOVERNOR         19 

in  simplifying  the  construction,  reducing  the  number 
of  working  parts,  lessening  the  friction  and  thus  making 
the  governor  more  perfect  in  its  action. 

The  shaft  governors  can  be  divided  into  two  classes 
with  respect  to  the  motion  of  the  valve,  namely: 

Class  I,  in  which  the  eccentric  is  rotated  or  twisted 
around  the  shaft.  The  travel  of  valve  is  changed 
without  change  of  lead. 

Class  II,  in  which  the  eccentric  is  mounted  on  a  disk 
with  a  center  different  from  that  of  the  fly-wheel  and 
is  swung  in  the  arc  of  a  circle  across  the  center  of  the 
shaft.  The  travel  of  the  valve  is  changed  with  change 
of  lead. 

For  both  the  above  classes  of  valve-gear  the  governor 
can  be  essentially  of  the  same  character,  hence  the 
above  distinction  does  not  necessarily  indicate  a  struc- 
tural difference  in  the  governors. 

Neglecting  the  difference  of  swinging  or  rotating 
eccentric,  governors  can  be  divided  into  three  groups, 
depending  on  structural  differences. 

These  groups  are  as  follows: 

I.  Governors  with  two  weights  in  gravity  balance, 
as  already  shown  in  early  examples  in   the  Custer, 
Buckeye  and  Westinghouse  governors. 

II.  Governors  with  a  single  weight  in  gravity  bal- 
ance, with  eccentric  and  governor  mechanism. 

III.  Governors  with  single  arm  in  partial  gravity 
balance  which  carries  inertia  weight,  centrifugal  weight 
and  eccentric. 

All  the  above  classes  can  be  operated  so  as  to  have 
regulation  assisted  or  retarded  by  inertia  and  can 


20  SHAFT    GOVERNORS 

probably    be    connected    to    rotating   or    a    swinging 
eccentric  as  desired. 

A  very  good  illustration  of  a  shaft  governor  of  the 
first  class  is  shown  in  Fig.  8.  The  eccentric  is  mounted 
on  a  plate  G,  pivoted  at  P  and  is  connected  to  E  B, 
No.  i,  and  E  B,  No.  2,  by  connecting  rods,  in  such  a 


FIG.  8 

manner  that  the  action  of  centrifugal  force  in  throwing 
the  weights  B  B  outward  causes  the  center  of  the 
eccentric  to  swing  toward  the  center  of  the  shaft. 
The  springs  pivoted  at  K  rock  against  the  centrifugal 
force  and  hold  the  weights  in  a  determinate  position 
for  each  speed.  The  dashpot  simply  restrains  the 
motion  when  too  rapid  and  tends  to  prevent  racing. 
There  are  numerous  governors  in  this  class. 

Fig.  9  represents  a  notable  illustration  of  a  shaft 


EVOLUTION    OF   THE    SHAFT    GOVERNOR 


21 


governor  in  Class  II.  This  governor,  although  con- 
sisting of  a  single  weight,  is  still  in  gravity  balance. 
Its  advantages  over  those  in  Class  I  are  a  less  number 
of  working  parts,  simpler  construction  and  less  friction. 


FIG.   9 

The  governor  is  used  on  the  Straight  Line  engines  and 
one  or  two  others,  and  is  the  latest  design  of  Prof. 
John  E.  Sweet. 

Fig.  10  represents  a  governor  in  Class  III.  This 
governor  was  designed  by  different  engineers  and  the 
patents  are  now  owned  by  Mr.  Frank  Rites.  It  is  now 
in  very  extensive  use  in  the  United  States.  This  gov- 
ernor has  a  single  moving  part  mounted  on  a  single 
pivot.  It  is  designed  to  take  full  advantage  of  inertia, 
and  is  so  nearly  in  gravity  balance  that  no  bad  results 
in  regulation  were  ever  shown  by  defects  in  balancing. 


22 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


The  friction  in  this  governor  can  be  reduced  to  a 
minimum  and  the  results  are  great  sensitiveness  and 
wonderful  regulation  under  adverse  conditions. 

The  accompanying  table  gives  a  list  of  United  States 


FIG.    10 

patents  for  improvements  in  the  shaft  governor  granted 
previous  to  1880,  in  all  only  twenty-nine,  of  which  five 
were  granted  before  1870,  and  twenty-five  between 
1870  and  1880.  Since  that  date  the  patents  have  been 
numerous. 


EVOLUTION    OF   THE  SHAFT    GOVERNOR         23 


EARLY  LIST  OF  U.  S.  PATENTS  FOR  SHAFT  GOVERNORS 
PATENTS  GRANTED  PRIOR  TO  1880 
J.  D.  Custer, 

L.  Eikenbury,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Joab  Wooster,  Strykersville,  N.Y. 
S.  Stanton,  Newburg,  N.  Y. 

D.  A.  Woodbury,  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

««  «  « 

J.  W.  Thompson,  Salem,  O. 
«  it        « 

J.  C.  Hoadlcy,  Lawrence,  Mass. 


G.  C.  Suiss, 

H.  S.  Maxim,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

Corbitt  &  Campbell,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

J.  Felber,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Hall  &  Whitteman,  Hasma,  N.  Y. 

G.  F.  Ernst,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

G.  E.  Tower,  Annapolis,  Md. 

Cosgrove,  Faribault,  Minn. 

Thompson  &  Hunt,  Salem,  O. 

H.  Tabor,  Corning,  N.  Y. 

C.  B.  Smith,  Newark,  N.  J. 

D.  O.  Ladd,  Chicago. 

«  « 

L.H.Watson,     " 

C.  S.  Locke, 

G.  H.  Cobb,  Palmer,  Mass. 

F.  Fosdick,  Fitchburg,  Mass. 

C.  V.  B.,  San  Francisco. 

W.  Johnson,  Lambert ville,  N.  J. 

The  limits  of  this  paper  do  not  permit  an  opportunity 
for  further  discussion  of  the  various  forms  of  shaft 


1839 

June 

21 

i,i79 

1862 

Apr. 

I 

34,82i 

1862 

Apr. 

16 

38,055 

1867 

Aug. 

20 

67,936 

1868 

July 

14 

80,025 

1870 

May 

31 

103,698 

U 

Sept. 

27 

107,746 

1872 

July 

16 

128,986 

1875 

April 

27 

162,715 

1873 

Oct. 

28 

144,098 

1874 

Mch. 

17 

148,560 

1875 

June 

29 

164,917 

" 

ft 

29 

164,942 

« 

July 

20 

165,744 

M 

Aug. 

31 

167,225 

" 

Sept. 

21 

167,835 

l876 

Jan. 

II 

172,116 

" 

Sept. 

5 

181,927 

" 

May 

ii 

i84,443 

l877 

Jan. 

9 

187,116 

1878 

June 

18 

204,924 

U 

July 

30 

206,500 

U 

Aug. 

6 

206,792 

11 

Sept. 

3 

207,607 

it 

" 

3 

207,608 

l879 

Jan. 

i4 

211,309 

« 

" 

14 

2n,335 

" 

Mch. 

18 

2I3.3C5 

" 

Nov. 

4 

221,296 

1880 

May 

25 

227,967 

(i 

Aug. 

17 

231,228 

24  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

governor,  or  of  its  theory  and  method  of  action.  The 
account  of  the  development  is  imperfect,  for  the  reason 
that  the  sources  of  information  available  were  neither 
numerous  nor  exhaustive,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
various  members  of  the  association  will  supplement 
the  facts  gathered  together  and  presented  in  this  short 
paper,  with  data  relating  to  the  development  of  the 
governor,  while  it  is  still  fresh  in  mind. 

There  are  many  reasons  for  obtaining  this  informa- 
tion fully  and  in  detail  while  there  is  an  opportunity. 
Such  investigation  as  made  indicates  that  the  shaft 
governor  as  we  know  it  to-day  is  essentially  an  Amer- 
can  invention,  conceived,  developed  and  perfected  in 
this  country. 

The  importance  of  this  system  of  regulation  is  so 
fully  recognized  as  to  need  no  argument  in  its  favor, 
and  while  at  the  present  time  the  shaft  governor  is 
used  only  in  an  experimental  way  on  certain  classes 
of  engines,  yet  the  few  experiments  which  have  been 
performed  indicate  that  its  field  is  not  limited  to  any 
great  extent  by  speed  requirements,  and  it  seems  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that  a  period  of  development  may 
extend  its  use  to  include  not  only  all  classes  of  steam 
engines,  but  gas  engines  as  well. 

The  demand  for  close  speed  regulation  came  with  the 
invention  of  the  incandescent. 


II 

GENERAL  DEFINITIONS  AND   RULES 

BEFORE  going  further  into  the  subject  of  governors 
it  may  be  well  to  fix  in  our  minds  some  of  the  definitions 
of  terms  used  in  reference  to  them,  and  already  referred 
to  in  Chapter  I. 

Centrifugal  force  is  that  force  which  tends  to  fly  from 
a  center.  A  familiar  illustration  of  it  may  be  noted  in 
swinging  a  weight,  attached  to  a  cord,  about  the  head. 
The  longer  the  cord  the  greater  the  force  required  to 
keep  it  revolving. 

Centripetal  force  is  force  which  always  tends  toward 
a  center;  the  opposite  of  centrifugal  force. 

Inertia  is  that  property  of  matter  which  tends  to 
keep  it  at  rest  when  resting,  and,  when  in  motion, 
tends  to  keep  it  moving  in  a  straight  line.  It  is  this 
force  which  makes  it  difficult  to  start  a  heavily  loaded 
wheelbarrow,  and  also  to  bring  it  to  rest  again  when 
well  under  way. 

Isochronal  means  relating  to  equal  periods  of  time. 
This  term  is  sometimes  used  in  reference  to  shaft 
governors.  The  principal  difference  between  the  two 
general  classes  of  governors,  pendulum,  and  shaft  is 
in  the  action  of  the  forces  which  control  them.  In  the 
pendulum  governors  there  are  the  two  forces,  centrif- 

25 


26  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

ugal  and  gravity,  which  are  equal  at  only  one  point 
of  the  operation  of  the  same.  In  the  shaft  governor 
the  force  of  inertia,  or  centrifugal  force,  is  at  all  times 
opposed  by  an  equal  amount  of  spring-force.  The 
weight-force  increases  as  the  weights  move  from  the 
center,  the  spring-force  also  increases  as  the  springs 
are  extended  by  the  weights. 

When  a  governor  is  "sluggish,"  the  speed  falls  far 
below  its  rating,  and  is  not  acquired  again  quickly, 
perhaps  not  at  all.  The  weight-force  is  greater  than 
the  spring-force;  the  former  must  be  decreased  to  get 
sensitiveness,  and  the  latter  altered  to  get  the  speed. 

When  an  engine  simply  "speeds,  up"  and  must  be 
checked  on  the  throttle,  either  excessive  friction  in 
some  of  the  parts  exists  or  the  spring-force  is  too  great. 
Decrease  the  spring-tension  to  remedy  this. 

When  an  engine  "races"  or  hunts"  the  two  forces 
are  unbalanced  and  are  alternating  rapidly  in  over- 
coming each  other,  causing  the  engine  to  alternate  in 
speed  within  a  certain  range.  Giving  less  tension  on 
springs  to  decrease  sensitiveness  and  changing  weight 
to  get  the  speed,  is  the  remedy. 

Racing  may  also  be  caused  by  friction  of  parts  or 
other  local  troubles,  as  will  be  shown  later  in  this 
chapter.  There  is,  however,  a  noticeable  difference 
between  racing  caused  by  over-sensitiveness  and  fric- 
tion. When  it  is  caused  by  the  spring-tension  alone 
the  changes  in  speed  will  be  rapid  and  even,  within  a 
certain  range.  When  caused  by  friction  the  weights 
will  stick  on  their  inner  position  until  the  speed  de- 
veloped is  so  high  as  to  throw  them  out  with  a  noise; 


GENERAL   DEFINITIONS   AND   RULES  27 

or,  when  the  engine  is  above  speed,  they  will  stick 
where  they  are  until  the  speed  is  reduced  enough  for 
the  springs  to  draw  them  back  again. 

The  speed  at  which  they  will  regulate,  and  the  sensi- 
bility of  the  shaft  governors  depend  principally  on  the 
following  conditions:  (i)  Tension  of  springs;  (2)  the 
distance  from  the  pivot  where  they  are  attached  to 
the  weight,  or  weight-arms;  (3)  the  amount  of  weight; 
(4)  the  distance  of  weight  from  fulcrum. 

EXAMPLES  OF,  AND  SEARCH  FOR,  TROUBLE 

All  of  the  well-known  makes  of  shaft  governors  at 
the  present  date,  of  whatever  class  they  may  be,  are 
thoroughly  tested,  regulated,  and  set  by  the  makers, 
so  that  in  the  start  they  are  turned  over  to  the  oper- 
ating engineer  regulating  to  within  a  certain  range  of 
percentage  of  speed  called  for,  and  are  as  perfect  as 
they  can  be  made.  The  difficulties  that  arise  after 
being  in  service  some  time  have  a  cause  and  a  remedy. 

Once  a  governor  is  perfected  and  running  there  is 
no  reason  why  it  cannot  be  brought  back  to  that 
condition  after  it  has  been  lost.  If  this  fact  is  kept  in 
mind,  by  perseverance  the  trouble  will  be  readily 
found;  often  it  is  a  very  slight  one,  so  small  as  to  be 
easily  overlooked.  An  engineer  has  been  known  to 
take  a  spanner-wrench  and  give  the  valve-rod  gland  a 
half  turn  to  tighten  it  up,  and  so  caused  his  engine  to 
run  away.  Another  had  his  engine,  with  a  Sweet 
Governor,  race  because  a  single  very  small  grain  of 
gravel  got  between  the  band  which  connects  the  spring 


28  SHAFT  "GOVERNORS 

and  weight-arm  and  the  weight-arm  itself.  Again  a 
pinching  cap  on  one  of  the  fulcrum-pins  or  a  slight  burr 
on  a  valve-rod  has  caused  trouble  in  a  governor.  The 
slightest  thing  should  not  be  overlooked.  Dry  pins 
are  often  the  seat  of  trouble;  and  a  governor,  to  be 
properly  attended,  should  be  oiled  as  regularly  as 
any  other  part  of  the  engine,  and  once  in  a  while 
all  pins  and  bearings  should  be  taken  apart  and 
cleaned. 

When  a  search  for  trouble  begins  nothing  should  be 
neglected,  from  the  governor-eccentric  to  the  farthest 
edge  of  the  valve  in  the  valve  chest.  Disconnect  the 
eccentric  rod  or  rods,  as  the  case  may  be,  from  the 
governor-eccentric,  and  remove  or  release  the  spring 
or  springs  from  the  weight-arm  or  arms. 

Then  move  the  weight-arms  in  and  out  on  their 
travel  from  inner  to  outer  positions.  Most  of  the 
shaft  governors  made  on  engines  from  5  H.  P.  to  1,000 
H.  P.  are  so  counterbalanced  that  when  thus  operated 
one  man  should  be  able,  on  the  smaller  makes,  to  easily 
move  the  parts  in  and  out  with  one  hand,  and,  on  the 
larger  engines,  with  both  hands,  but  he  should  never 
use  a  bar  of  any  kind. 

If  they  do  not  move  so  freely  as  to  permit  this  the 
trouble  is  caused  by  dry  or  cut  pins,  pinching  caps, 
bent  rods  or  links  making  pins  bind,  pinching  or  dry 
eccentric-straps,  or  eccentric  binding  (in  some  instances 
between  a  bearing  and  governor-wheel  hub)  or  some- 
times gummed  oil  and  grit  cause  it. 

If  the  governor  is  free  and  in  perfect  condition  dis- 
connect the  valves  from  the  rockers  or  valve-rod  slides, 


GENERAL   DEFINITIONS   AND   RULES  29 

as  the  case  may  be.  Then  look  for  dry  surface  of  pins 
or  bearings  or  slides,  bent  rods  and  other  like  condi- 
tions. This  done,  see  that  the  valve  stems  are  straight 
and  true,  and  in  line  with  their  connections,  also  that 
their  bearings  do  .not  bind  and  are  not  dry.  See 
whether  they  are  burred  or  worn  small  in  stuffing  box 
so  that  the  packing  binds  it  when  pulled  up  tight,  and 
whether  the  packing  is  old  and  dry. 

Then  look  into  the  steam  chest.  See  if  the  valve  is 
set  properly  and  if  it  leaks,  or  if  the  pressure-plate 
binds.  Often  an  engineer  forgets  that  proper  valve 
setting  is  as  essential  as  it  is  to  have  the  governor  free 
and  well  lubricated.  An  illustration  of  the  fact  that 
the  valve  setting  must  be  carefully  reckoned  on  is 
shown  by  the  following  experience : 

A  500  H.  P.  cross-compound  engine  running  con- 
densing in  a  certain  power  house  near  New  York  City, 
began  at  one  time  to  race  and  speed  up  very  badly, 
and  used  much  steam  for  no  apparent  cause.  The 
steam  pressure  was  120  Ibs.  and  the  receiver  pressure 
was  from  45  to  70  Ibs.,  which  in  itself  showed  some- 
thing wrong  with  the  valves,  though  the  trouble  was 
attributed  to  the  governor. 

This  engine  was  vertical  and  had  four  gridiron 
valves  to  each  cylinder,  which  allowed  each  valve  to 
be  set  independently.  The  valves  had  small  lap  and 
the  steam  was  admitted  over  the  edges  of  the  valves 
nearest  the  end  of  cylinder.  An  examination  showed 
that  the  top  steam-valve  had  been  shoved  up  so  that 
a  late  opening  of  valve  occurred,  and  when  the  valve 
was  supposedly  lapped  there  was  reopening  of  the 


30  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

same  on  the  opposite  edges.  This  allowed  the  steam 
to  blow  through  and  on  into  the  receiver,  raising  the 
receiver  pressure  and  exerting  a  back  pressure  on  the 
up  stroke  almost  equal  to  the  initial  pressure  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  piston.  This  made  the  H.  P. 
cylinder  inoperative,  and  the  L.  P.  cylinder  was  doing 
more  than  its  rating,  thus  unbalancing  the  engine  and 
putting  it  beyond  the  control  of  the  governor. 

One  turn  on  the  valve-stem,  drawing  the  valve  into 
place,  corrected  all  the  trouble. 

In  one  instance  a  large  engine  of  well-known  make 
ran  for  some  time  giving  bad  service  —  regulating 
badly.  Finally  it  was  discovered  that  the  pressure- 
plates  were  so  weak  that  they  sprung  in  and  pinched 
the  valves  while  running,  but  were  always  apparently 
free  when  tested  at  other  times.  New  and  stiffer 
pressure-plates  remedied  this. 

In  cases  where  the  direction  of  rotation  of  an  engine 
is  changed  from  running  over  to  running  under,  or 
vice  versa,  the  eccentric,  and  all  governor  parts,  must 
be  changed  in  their  positions.  The  various  makers 
give  instructions  for  these  changes,  but  the  essential 
points  to  know  in  connection  with  quick  changes  are 
these:  The  pivoted  ends  of  the  levers  should  always 
lead,  and  the  weights  follow,  the  desired  direction  of 
rotation,  and  be  so  placed  that  when  the  weights 
move  out  the  eccentric  will  be  either  advanced  in 
the  direction  it  will  run  for  governors  of  the  first  class, 
Chapter  I,  or  thrown  across  the  shaft  center  in  gov- 
ernors of  the  second  class.  Lack  of  a  knowledge  of 
this  is  sometimes  a  very  serious  source  of  trouble, 


GENERAL   DEFINITIONS   AND    RULES  31 

and  these  facts  should  be  carefully  stored  in  the  mind, 
when  a  search  for  trouble  begins. 

At  times  it  seems  impossible  to  get  enough  spring- 
force  to  obtain  proper  adjustment  of  the  governor, 
either  from  too  long  a  spring  or  a  weak  one,  more 
commonly  the  former.  The  remedy  is  to  cut  off  one 
or  two  coils  of  the  spiral  spring  until  the  desired  effect 
is  obtained.  The  best  way  to  make  such  a  cut  is  to 
spread  the  coils  by  driving  a  chisel  between  them  and 
keeping  it  there  until  a  score  can  be  filed  all  the  way, 
or  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  way  around  the  springs; 
then  remove  the  chisel  from  between  the  coils  and 
finish  the  break  with  the  chisel,  laying  the  coil  on  an 
anvil  or  some  heavy  ridged  surface.  The  flying  coils, 
when  they  have  parted  from  the  rest,  should  be  guarded 
against. 

When  we  have  a  governor  such  as  is  described  in 
the  third  group,  Chapter  I,  we  have  the  force  of  inertia 
to  deal  with  in  addition  to  the  spring  and  centrifugal 
force. 

In  this  type  of  governor,  the  weight  on  both  the 
spring  and  free  ends  of  the  bar  is  inertia  in  effect, 
but  changes  of  weight  on  one  end  has  the  opposite 
effect  to  the  same  change  on  the  other  end. 

Changing  the  spring  in  this  governor  gives  the  same 
results  as  with  all  governors. 

Changing  the  weight  on  the  free  end  of  these  gov- 
ernor arms  gives  the  same  results  as  with  the  others. 

A  change  of  weight  on  the  spring  end  of  these  arms 
gives  the  opposite  effect  to  a  like  change  on  the  other 
end.  No  radical  change  in  weight  of  this  class  of 


32  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

governor  should  be  attempted  without  consulting  the 
builder. 

Sometimes,  with  the  governor  properly  adjusted 
and  free  from  friction,  the  engine  will  still  speed  up. 
This  is  caused  by  leaky  valves  or  from  insufficient 
steam-lap  to  cover  the  parts  at  all  points  of  the  engine- 
stroke,  when  the  governor-weights  are  at  the  outer 
extreme  of  their  travel.  To  test  for  this  latter  defect, 
remove  the  governor-spring  or  springs  and  block  the 
weight-arms  to  their  outer  position,  and  then,  while 
turning  the  engine  one  complete  revolution,  observe 
whether  the  steam  edges  or  steam-valve  covers  the 
ports  at  all  points  of  the  revolution.  If  they  do  not, 
the  valve  setting  must  be  changed  to  accomplish  this. 

The  rules  of  action  laid  down  in  this  chapter  apply 
generally  to  all  makes  of  shaft  governors.  Where 
radical  changes  are  to  be  made,  the  builders  should 
always  be  consulted,  and  the  knowledge  that  each 
understands  best  how  to  operate  his  own  special  design 
of  governor  has  impelled  us  to  insert  in  the  following 
chapters  the  rules  of  procedure,  or  instructions,  of 
the  builders,  for  use  with  each  design  named.  In 
the  study  of  the  succeeding  pages,  the  reader  will 
note  where  these  general  instructions  apply  to  the 
individual  cases. 

The  two  classes  of  governors  as  specified  in  Chapter 
I  will  be  covered  in  these  individual  cases,  but  in  the 
event  of  the  operator  not  having  an  engine  named 
individually  in  these  chapters,  the  general  rules  of 
this  chapter  will  no  doubt  cover  the  case. 


Ill 


ADJUSTING  THE  RITES  INERTIA  GOVERNOR* 

THE  inertia  governor,  invented  by  F.  M.  Rites,  is 
now  regularly  used  on  engines  made  by  considerably 
more  than  one  hundred  different  manufacturers.  It 
is  thus  the  most  commonly  used  governor  for  high- 
speed engines,  and  is  already  being  adopted  for  use  on 
slow-speed  engines  as  well,  either  in  place  of  the  ball 
governor  for  Corliss  valve-gears,  or  as  a  shaft  governor 
for  the  large  four-valve  medium-speed  engines  now 
coming  into  general  use.  The  principles  governing  its 
action,  and  the  various  ways  of  adjusting  this  gov- 
ernor to  produce  desired  results,  are  of  interest  to  every 
stationary  engineer. 

The  Rites  governor  consists  of  a  single  piece  of  cast 
iron  in  the  general  form  of  a  bar,  mounted  at  right 
angles  to  the  engine-shaft  and  carried  on  a  pivot-pin 
parallel  to  the  shaft.  At  a  suitable  point  on  this  bar 
is  provided  a  wrist-pin  to  which  the  valve-rod  is  con- 
nected, or  if  the  governor  is  placed  elsewhere  than  at 
the  end  of  the  engine-shaft,  an  eccentric  is  used  instead 
of  the  pin.  A  spring  opposes  the  inertia  force  of 
the  bar. 

*  Contributed  to  Power  by  R.  E.  Cahill  and  S.  H.  Bunnell.  This  governor  is 
in  the  second  class  of  the  third  group,  Chapter  I. 

33 


34 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


The  accompanying  sketch  (Fig.  11)  shows  the  gov- 
ernor-wheel in  outline,  and  the  elementary  form  of 
the  governor-arm.  Observation  will  make  it  evident 
that  the  governor-arm,  considered  as  two  heavy  masses 
A,  B,  will  tend  to  overtake  the  fly-wheel  if  the  engine- 
speed  is  reduced,  as  by  increase  of  load,  and  to  fall 


FIG.   II 

behind  the  fly-wheel  if  the  engine-speed  is  increased, 
as  by  decrease  of  load.  It  is  also  evident  that  the  gov- 
ernor-arm, considered  as  a  mass  M  located  at  the  center 
of  gravity  of  the  whole  arm,  tends  to  swing  in  when 
the  engine-speed  is  reduced,  and  out  when  the  speed 
is  increased.  The  arm  therefore  takes  a  position  in 
which  its  centrifugal  force  balances  the  spring-tension 
(or  as  nearly  that  position  as  the  arm  stops  will  allow), 


ADJUSTING   RITES   INERTIA   GOVERNOR  35 

and  moves  relatively  to  the  engine-shaft  forward  and 
inward  if  the  engine-speed  is  decreased,  and  backward 
and  outward  if  the  engine-speed  is  accelerated. 

The  valve-rod  pin  (or  the  crank  of  the  eccentric 
if  that  is  used)  is  located  nearly  on  the  line  from  the 
arm-pivot  center  to  the  shaft-center,  and  distant  from 
the  shaft-center  by  the  lap  of  the  steam-valve  when 
the  governor-arm  is  in  full-speed  position.  In  prac- 
tice, the  governor  is  keyed  to  the  shaft  so  that  the 
arm-pivot  pin  is  a  little  ahead  of  the  center  line  of 
the  engine-crank  when  at  full  speed.  To  prevent 
running  over  speed  when  without  load  the  steam-lap 
must  be  great  enough  to  give  practically  no  opening 
when  the  governor-arm  is  in  full-speed  position,  which 
means  zero  lead  in  this  position.  As  the  arm  swings 
in,  the  lead  increases,  but  not  enough  to  give  a  proper 
lead  in  the  usual  running  position  unless  the  governor 
is  set  a  little  ahead,  as  described.  The  corresponding 
disadvantage  is  an  excessive  lead  at  late  cut-offs. 

The  governor  is  designed  by  the  engine  builder  in 
accordance  with  certain  emperical  rules  developed  by 
Mr.  Rites  from  extended  experience.  It  should  have 
power  enough  to  actuate  the  valves  of  the  particular 
size  of  engine  for  which  it  was  designed,  and  should 
only  need  adjustment  in  some  of  the  several  ways 
provided  in  order  to  meet  the  special  requirements 
of  any  particular  case.  The  first  step  in  correcting 
faulty  regulation  of  an  engine  is  to  determine  the 
speed  under  a  small  load,  say  one-fourth  of  the  rated 
load  of  the  engine.  If  the  speed  is  steady  under  small 
changes  of  this  load,  but  too  slow,  tighten  the  gov- 


36  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

ernor-spring;  slacken  the  spring  to  decrease  the  speed. 
If  the  spring  is  not  strong  enough,  so  that  screwing  up 
further  has  not  the  effect  of  raising  the  speed,  or  if 
the  spring  is  stretched  to  the  limit  of  space  allowed, 
one  or  more  coils  may  be  cut  off,  or  any  attached 
weights  removed  from  the  short  end  A  of  the  arm. 
If  the  speed  is  not  steady,  but  changes  irregularly 
without  corresponding  change  in  load,  look  for  trouble 
in  the  pivot-pin  bearing  —  lack  of  oil  or  a  cut  and 
scored  pin  or  bushing,  and  correct  this  first. 

Next  increase  the  load  and  observe  the  speed  of  the 
engine.  If  it  drops  more  than  desired,  try  setting  the 
spring-pin  farther  toward  the  governor-arm  pivot 
along  the  slot  provided,  or  remove  any  attached 
weights  from  the  end  A  and  reduce  the  spring-tension; 
or  add  a  small  weight  to  the  end  B  of  the  arm  on  the 
spring  side,  or  both.  Moving  a  weight  on  the  end  A 
from  i  to  3  has  a  similar  effect,  but  in  less  degree. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  drop  in  speed  can- 
not be  overcome  by  the  usual  methods  of  weighting. 
In  such  cases,  first  making  sure  that  the  lap  of  the 
valve  is  sufficient,  look  for  a  hard-running  valve, 
which,  at  full  stroke,  pulls  excessively  on  the  governor, 
springs  the  rocker-arms  and  connections,  and  by  the 
combinations  of  fault  causes  the  speed  to  drop.  If 
possible,  keep  the  load  steady  while  counting  or  other- 
wise observing  the  speed.  If  the  speed  does  not  drop 
somewhat  from  light  load  to  full  load,  the  governing 
will  probably  be  unsteady  under  quick  changes,  and 
the  spring-pin  should  be  moved  out  in  the  slot,  or 
weight  added  to  the  short  end  of  the  arm  on  the  spring 


ADJUSTING   RITES   INERTIA  GOVERNOR          37 

side.  After  any  such  change  the  speed  will  have  to  be 
brought  back  to  the  desired  rate  by  adjusting  the 
spring,  as  at  first. 

Next  try  the  speed  with  all  load  off  the  engine,  if 
that  condition  is  ever  likely  to  exist  in  the  plant.  If 
the  speed  rises  considerably,  the  steam-valve  leaks, 
or  the  steam-lap  is  insufficient  to  cover  the  ports  en- 
tirely when  the  governor-arm  is  in  the  full-speed 
position.  It  is  often  found  that  a  valve  which  appar- 
ently has  the  proper  amount  of  lap  will  open  slightly 
as  the  piston  advances  and  allow  the  engine  to  run 
considerably  over  speed  when  the  load  is  thrown  off. 
Condensing  engines  will  almost  invariably  run  con- 
siderably faster  without  load,  and  it  is  best  not  to 
attempt  to  keep  the  no-load  speed  down  to  the  exact 
figure,  as  the  increased  lap  necessary  makes  the  lead 
in  the  running  position  deficient.  If  the  valve  is 
decided  to  be  too  short,  it  is  often  easiest  to  make  an 
offset-pin  for  the  valve-rod,  and  put  this  in  place  of 
the  regular  pin  in  the  governor-arm  so  as  to  decrease 
the  throw  at  minimum  travels,  and  thus  save  buying 
a  new  valve.  Careful  observation  of  the  speed  of  the 
engine  under  different  loads,  and  successive  adjust- 
ments in  the  manner  described,  will  soon  bring  the 
engine  to  the  desired  condition. 

In  adding  weights  it  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  a 
change  in  the  weight  of  the  governor-arm  as  a  whole 
is  not  what  is  wanted,  but  a  change  in  the  distribution 
of  the  weight.  If  you  find  yourself  about  to  add  a 
weight  which  will  act  exactly  opposite  to  one  already 
in  place,  try  taking  off  the  other  weight  first;  perhaps 


38  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

none  is  required.  If  the  desired  regulation  has  been 
obtained  by  a  combination  of  weights  on  one  or  both 
ends  of  the  arm,  experiment  will  usually  prove  that  the 
same  result  can  be  secured  by  a  single  weight  properly 
placed.  It  is  merely  a  question  of  balancing  the  cen- 
trifugal force  of  the  governor-arm  against  the  tension 
of  the  spring.  If  these  are  exactly  balanced  at  all 
points  there  will  be  no  permanent  change  of  speed 
from  no  load  to  full  load,  which  is  sometimes  a  desir- 
able condition  and  is  easily  attained  by  the  inertia 
governor;  or  the  weight  and  spring-pin  may  be  ar- 
ranged so  that  the  balance  will  vary  at  different  points 
of  the  movement,  the  arm  requiring  a  greater  speed 
to  hold  it  out  against  the  extreme  tension  of  the  spring 
than  to  balance  the  spring-tension  in  other  positions, 
giving  an  increase  of  speed  as  load  decreases.  By 
overbalancing  the  governor,  an  engine  could  be  made 
to  run  much  faster  with  load  than  without,  but  for 
safety  and  reliable  running  the  full-load  speed  should 
be  nearly  two  per  cent,  lower  than  the  no-load  speed. 

The  adjustment  of  speed  to  load  as  described  de- 
pends on  the  centrifugal  effect.  Steadiness  under 
change  of  load  depends  on  the  inertia  effect,  and  is 
next  to  be  considered.  When  the  load  is  suddenly 
increased,  the  consequent  checking  of  the  engine-speed 
allows  the  governor-ajm  to  run  ahead  of  the  wheel, 
carrying  the  center  of  gravity  and  lengthening  the  cut- 
off. If  the  fly-wheel  is  sufficiently  heavy  and  the 
inertia  effect  of  the  governor-arm  great  enough,  the 
engine-speed  may  drop  only  slightly.  But  with  a 
free-moving  governor  the  arm  is  likely  to  swing  too 


ADJUSTING   RITES   INERTIA   GOVERNOR          39 

far,  resulting  in  too  late  a  cut-off  and  an  increase  of 
speed  after  the  momentary  drop  as  the  load  first  came 
on,  followed  by  a  swing  the  other  way  as  the  engine 
overruns  the  governor-arm,  and  so  on.  These  swings 
are  quite  regular,  and  very  clearly  shown  by  the  volt- 
meter on  a  direct-current  unit.  If  a  sudden  change  in 
load  produces  two  or  three  long  swings  before  the  en- 
gine finally  steadies  itself,  try  adding  a  weight  to  the 
long  end  of  the  arm,  on  the  line  through  the  centers 
of  the  pivot  and  the  shaft.  One  swing  is  to  be  ex- 
pected, but  the  engine  should  be  so  regulated  that  it 
will  swing  once  up  and  back  to  the  correct  figure,  never 
passing  the  normal  speed  twice  for  one  change  of  load. 
If1  the  speed  changes  too  much  at  first  and  comes  back 
too  slowly,  extra  weight  on  the  long  end  B  of  the  arm 
is  probably  needed,  as  in  the  other  case. 

The  most  troublesome  condition  is  irregularity. 
Engines  are  sometimes  found  to  vary  speed  unaccount- 
ably, perhaps  suddenly,  and  at  odd  intervals.  Stick- 
ing at  the  pin  is  a  common  cause  of  this,  but  too  free 
a  pin  may  possibly  allow  the  governor  to  float  under 
insignificant  impulses  and  produce  a  similar  effect. 
The  governor-arm  is  unbalanced  against  gravity,  and 
if  the  engine  is  run  at  too  slow  a  speed  it  may  fall  for- 
ward somewhat  during  half  the  revolution  and  back- 
ward during  the  other  half,  making  the  cut-off  too 
long  on  one  end,  or  irregular  in  successive  strokes. 
Sometimes  the  gravity  effect  combines  with  valve- 
rod  friction  or  inertia  and  makes  the  motion  kick  the 
governor  so  that  the  valve-gear  moves  with  peculiar 
jerks.  A  simple  brake,  as  a  piece  of  flat  spring  bear- 


40  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

ing  on  the  arm,  or  a  dash-pot,  may  be  the  easiest  means 
of  controlling  this.  A  large,  stiff  governor-pin  intro- 
duces just  the  necessary  element  of  friction  to  make 
the  governor  stable,  and  is  thus  desirable  for  other 
reasons  than  strength. 

A  common  cause  of  complaint  with  large  governors 
is  hammering  on  the  stops  in  starting  or  shutting  down 
the  engine.  This  can  usually  be  overcome  by  moving 
attached  weights  and  noting  whether  hammering  is 
inrecased  or  diminished.  Usually  the  proper  change 
is  in  the  direction  of  adding  weight  on  the  spring  side 
of  the  arm  and  increasing  the  spring-tension,  though 
it  may  be  necessary  to  add  weight  at  both  ends.  It 
is  a  peculiar  fact  that  friction  in  the  valve-gear  operates 
to  help  the  governor-spring,  so  that  an  engine  may  be 
speeded  up  several  revolutions  by  excessively  tight 
valve-stem  packing  or  any  similarly  acting  cause.  It 
is  well  to  look  over  the  valve  motion  as  a  possible  cause 
of  any  unaccountable  change  of  speed.  If  a  brake  is 
used  on  the  governor  and  is  set  up  too  tight,  it  may 
cause  continual  changes  of  speed  through  its  action  in 
checking  the  governor-arm  as  it  swings  out  or  in,  and 
so  preventing  the  arm  from  floating  gradually  to  the 
proper  position. 

It  may  be  necessary  to  adjust  the  governor  with  no 
other  data  than  what  can  be  learned  by  watching  the 
switchboard  meters  while  the  engine  runs  in  service, 
and  applying  the  proper  remedy  for  the  apparent  fault 
on  the  occasion  of  the  next  shut-down.  It  may  take 
an  hour's  careful  watching  to  make  sure  regarding  the 
real  action  of  the  governor;  for  the  only  sure  way  is 


ADJUSTING    RITES    INERTIA    GOVERNOR         41 

to  wait  for  the  load  to  change  as  desired  and  remain 
constant  long  enough  to  give  the  engine  time  to  settle 
to  a  steady  speed,  and  repeat  the  observation  until  the 
exact  speeds  under  several  different  loads  are  ascer- 
tained. 

In  conclusion,  before  altering  a  Rites'  governor  the 
engineer  should  make  sure  that  the  main  pin  and  its 
bushings  are  free  and  properly  lubricated,  and  that  the 
valve  has  sufficient  lap  and  runs  freely.  If  the  arm 
is  heavy  enough  to  drive  the  valve,  see  whether  the 
desired  governing  effect  can  be  produced  by  adjust- 
ing the  spring;  also  avoid  adding  unnecessary  weights 
and  the  consequent  overstraining  of  springs,  bushings 
and  pins. 


IV 


THE  BUCKEYE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR  AND  ITS 
ADJUSTMENTS 

THE  governor  of  this  engine  of  which  (Fig.  12)  is 
a  cut,  comes  in  class  i,  group  i,  as  specified  in  Chapter  I. 
The  following  instructions  are  for  its  adjustment. 

NAMES  OF  PARTS 

The  following  names  are  given  to  the  several  details 
of  the  governor  for  convenience  of  reference. 

The  levers  or  weight  arms  a  a  will  be  called  levers  here- 
after for  convenience. 

The  weights  A  A  are  clamped  on  the  levers. 

The  lever  pivots  b  h  are  studs,  secured  to  arms  of  the 
containing  wheel  on  which  the  levers  move  freely. 

The  links  B  B  couple  each  lever  to  ears  on  the  sleeve 
of 

The  Governor  eccentric  C,  which  is  free  to  turn  on 
the  shaft  and  is  turned  about  90  deg.  on  the  shaft 
by  the  outward  movement  or  expansion  of  the  levers 
to  the  outer  extreme  of  their  range  of  movement. 

The  main  springs  F  F  are  of  tempered  steel  wire. 
They  are  anchored  adjustably  to  the  rim  of  the  con- 
taining wheel  by  means  of 

42 


THE   BUCKEYE   ENGINE   GOVERNOR 


43 


Tie  tension  screws  c  c  by  which  the  tension  is  ad- 
justed. 

The  spring  clips  d  d  are  clamped  on  the  levers  a  a 
and  are  provided  with  slots  or  eyes  into  which  the 


FIG.   12 

springs  F  F  are  hooked.  They  may  be  moved  along 
the  levers  and  fixed  in  any  position  within  narrow 
limits. 

The  lever  stops  f  f  are  blocks  of  wood  on  which  the 
levers  rest  when  not  expanded.  They  are  held  in  dove- 
tail recesses  in  brackets  bolted  to  the  containing  wheel. 

The  outer  lever  stops  e  e  are  cylinders  of  wood  fitted 
to  sockets  in  the  outer  caps  of  the  links  B  B.  If  the 
levers  expand  violently  they  strike  the  inner  surface 


44 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


of  the  containing  wheel  rim,  but  with  proper  adjust- 
ment they  seldom  or  never  touch  the  rim. 

The  auxiliary  springs  P  P  are  introduced  to  help  the 
levers  out  during  the  first  half  of  their  outward  move- 
ment, when  the  main  springs  F  F  have  enough  tension 
to  give  close  regulation  at  light  but  varying  loads.  With- 
out them  and  with  such  tension  the  governor  would 
race  with  standard  or  heavy  loads. 

The  guide  rollers  G  G  are  introduced  in  most  high- 
speed engines  to  restrain  the  springs  from  bowing  out- 
ward from  centrifugal  force.  They  are  most  needed 
when  speed  is  250  and  upwards,  and  when  the  spring 
clips  d  d  are  short.  [In  one  or  two  sizes  clips  of  differ- 
ent lengths  have  been  used.]  The  trouble  that  called 
for  their  use  was  due  to  the  change  in  direction  of  pull 
on  the  clips  in  consequence  of  such  bowing,  and  which 
caused  racing  when  the  amount  of  tension  called  for 
by  calculation  was  applied. 

TABLE  OF  GOVERNOR  DATA 

The  governors  are  made  in  six  sizes,  numbered  i  to  6. 
The  "diameter  of  wheel"  will  serve  to  identify  any  one 
the  data  of  which  may  be  wanted. 


Number  of  Governor 

i 

. 

3 

4 

5 

6 

A 

Diameter  of  Wheel  (inches)  .  . 

24 

32 

40 

48 

54 

66 

B 

Spring  leverage                 " 

4A 

5iV 

7 

8* 

9i 

12 

C 

Weight  leverage               " 

8! 

n 

14 

17 

19 

24 

D 

Initial  spring  tension      " 

aj 

3 

3i 

4i 

Si 

61 

THE  BUCKEYE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR 

DATA    FOR    WEIGHT    CALCULATIONS 


45 


E 

Effective  wt.  of  levers  (Ibs.  oz.) 

A 

A 

A 

18 

20 

32 

F 

Assumed  wt.  orbit  (ft.  diam.) 

i 

1.25 

i-5 

2 

2 

2-75 

G 

Resultant  spring  tension  (in.) 

3-25 

4 

5 

6.25 

6-5 

8 

EXPLANATION  OF  THE  TABLE 

The  diameter  of  wheel  is  given  as  before  explained  for 
identification.  When  making  calculations  or  referring 
to  data  for  any  purpose,  use  only  those  under  the  given 
diameter  which  agrees  with  the  wheel  of  the  governor 
under  consideration. 

B.  The  spring  leverage  is  the  distance  from  the  cen- 
ters of  the  pivots  of  the  levers  to  the  centers  of  the 
eyes  of  the  spring  clips.     It  is  adjustable,   but  the 
amount  given  is  that  on  which  all  calculations  are 
based.     It  is  fixed  at  one-FTalf  of  the  weight  leverage 
(C)   for  convenience  of  calculation.     It  is  also  very 
nearly  all  that  can  be  had  in  each  case,  for  reasons  to 
be  made  clear  presently,  but  it  can  be  diminished  in 
all  cases. 

C.  The  weight  leverage  is  the  distance  from  the  centers 
of  the  pivots  of  the  levers  to  the  point  where  the  whole 
effective  weight  of  the  levers  and  attached  weights  is 
assumed  to  be  concentrated  and  which  comes  about 
central  over  the  "lever  stops." 

D.  The  initial  spring  tension,  is,  as  nearly  as  can  be 
determined  theoretically,  the  maximum  tension  that 
can  be  applied  without  racing,  the  "Spring  leverage/' 
(B)  being  as  given  and  the  auxiliary  springs  applied 


46 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


and  properly  adjusted.  It  is  more  than  could  be 
carried  in  the  absence  of  the  auxiliaries,  unless  with 
very  careful  adjustment,  and  other  conditions  favor- 
able. (See  71  and  129.) 

E.  The  effective  weight  of  a  lever  is  the  weight  of  an 
unweighted  lever  with  spring  clip  in  position  to  which 
is  added  one-half  of  the  weight  of  a  link  (B,  Fig.  12). 
The  weight  is  found  by  resting  the  lever  on  the  scales 
at  the  distance  from  the  pivot  given  as  the  limit  of 


or 

©I 

SC-M.1 


\ 


FIG.    13 


the  "weight"  leverage  (C)  while  the  pivot  is  supported 
independently  of  the  scales.     (See  Fig.  13.) 

F.  The  assumed  diameter  of  the  orbit  of  the  weights 
is  an  orbit  somewhere  within  the  range  of  movement 
of  the  levers,  so  chosen  that  its  diameter  will  not  con- 
tain inconvenient  fractions  of  a  foot,  as  it  is  assumed 
solely  for  purposes  of  calculation.     The  diameter  as- 
sumed is  immaterial  provided  the  next  item   (G)  is 
correctly  deduced  from  it. 

G.  The  resultant  spring  tension  is  the  initial  tension 
(D)  augumented  by  the  additional  tension  that  would 
be  imposed  on  the  spring  by  moving  the  levers  out- 


THE   BUCKEYE   ENGINE   GOVERNOR  47 

ward  till  their  centers  of  force  reached  the  assumed 
orbit.  (Neither  this,  nor  the  initial  tension  can  be 
given  exactly  for  all  cases,  as  the  latter  depends  some- 
what upon  the  position  of  the  actual  center  of  force, 
which  varies  in  distance  from  the  center  of  rotation, 
as  the  levers  are  heavily  or  lightly  weighted,  being 
farthest  from  the  center  with  heaviest  weights.  But 
both  weight  and  spring  leverages  are  sufficiently  ad- 
justable to  enable  the  desired  speed  to  be  attained  when 
the  calculated  weight  is  attached.) 

USE  OF  THE  TABLE 

To  calculate  the  weight  required  for  a  given  speed. 

In  addition  to  data  furnished  by  the  table,  the 
force  of  the  main  springs  in  pounds  per  inch  of  tension 
will  be  needed.  This  will  be  generally  found  stamped 
on  the  cast  heads  of  the  springs;  if  not,  the  springs  may 
be  hung  up  and  weighted  till  extended  one,  two  or 
more  inches,  when  the  weight  used  divided  by  the  inches 
extended  will  give  the  force,  which  for  convenience 
may  be  represented  by  the  symbol  "f." 

The  first  step  in  the  calculation  is  to  find  the  centrif- 
ugal force  of  each  pound  of  weight  revolving  in  the 
assumed  orbit  (F)  at  the  given  speed,  which  may  be 
represented  by  "S."  The  desired  force  being  repre- 
sented by  "cf "  the  formula  will  be,  cf  =  S2  x  F  -f-  5870. 

Next  we  wish  to  find  the  spring  force  at  the  point 
of  weight  leverage  (C)  and  in  the  assumed  orbit  (F) 
which  we  will  represent  by  "sf."  The  weight  leverage 
being  twice  the  spring  leverage  the  formula  will  be, 
sf  =  }  x  G  -f-  2. 


48  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

Then  sf  -f-  cf  =  the  theoretical  total  weight,*  from 
which  the  item  E  is  deducted,  leaving  the  amount  to  be 
added  to  each  lever. 

Example.  Find  weights  for  No.  3  governor,  speed 
(S)  1 80,  spring  force  (f)  76  Ibs.  per  in.  The  assumed 
orbit  (F)  1.5  ft.  and  the  resultant  tension  (G)  5  in. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  not  familiar  with  formula 
we  will  give  the  rule  arithmetically. 

The  force  per  Ib.  (cf)  is  found  as  follows:  Multiply 
the  square  of  the  desired  number  of  revolutions  per  minute 
by  the  diameter  of  the  orbit  in  feet  (F)  and  divide  by  the 
constant  number  5870. 

Thus  i8o2  x  1.5  -s-  5870  =  8.28  Ibs.  very  nearly,  that 
is,  each  pound  in  the  given  orbit  will  exert  8.28  Ibs. 
centrifugal  force. 

Then  the  spring  power  76  multiplied  by  the  resultant 
tension  (G,  5  in.)  will  give  the  total  spring  force  at  the 
spring  leverage,  the  half  of  which  will  be  the  spring 
force  at  the  weight  leverage. 

Thus  76x5  -5- 2  =  190  Ibs.  Then  190  4-8.25  = 
22.94  Ibs.  total  weight  required.  Deducting  one- 
sixth  from  this  as  per  note  below  it  becomes  19.12 
Ibs.  or  19  Ibs.  2  oz.  Then  19  Ibs.  2  oz.  —  7  Ibs. 
14  oz.  (E)  =  1 1  Ibs.  4  oz.  to  be  added  to  each  lever  at 
point  C. 

For  other  speeds,  other  things  equal,  only  the  first 

*Owing,  however,  to  several  disturbing  influences,  namely: — the  centrifugal 
force  of  the  spring  itself;  the  friction  of  cut-off  valve  which  acts  in  a  direction  to 
aid  the  spring,  the  inertia  of  valve  and  valve  gear,  the  friction  of  yoke  on  eccen- 
tric and  of  eccentric  on  shaft,  as  well  as  friction  of  pivots,  —  a  correction  must  be 
applied  to  this  theoretical  total  weight.  Experience  shows  that  five-sixths  of  this 
amount  is  usually  enough. 


THE   BUCKEYE   ENGINE   GOVERNOR  49 

part  of  the  calculation,  finding  the  cf,  needs  to  be  gone 
over  again. 

AUXILIARY  SPRING  ADJUSTMENTS 

The  function  of  these  springs  has  been  already  ex- 
plained. 

They  were  first  applied  in  the  latter  part  of  1884, 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  exceptionally  close 
regulation  required  for  electric  lighting. 

As  their  adjustment  cannot  be  perfected  till  after 
the  engine  is  started,  the  shop  adjustment  (which  is 
the  best  that  can  be  made  by  a  general  rule)  may  in 
many  cases  require  to  be  changed  in  order  to  secure 
the  best  results. 

The  test  of  perfect  adjustment  is,  of  course,  close  regu- 
lation at  all  loads  without  racing  at  any  load,  and  prompt 
response  to  changes  of  load  without  objectionable  change 
of  speed,  momentary  or  permanent,  but  by  carefully 
observing  the  performance  of  the  engine  at  starting 
the  engineer  can  with  a  little  experience  tell  almost 
as  well  when  its  adjustments  are  perfect  and  what 
changes  may  be  needed,  as  by  the  test  of  regular  run- 
ning. But  to  do  so  he  must  first  familiarize  himself 
with  the  appearance  of  the  governor  sufficiently  to  be 
able  to  tell  the  moment  the  levers  begin  to  expand  as 
well  as  how  quickly  they  do  so,  and  to  detect  any  irregu- 
larities in  their  outward  movement. 

Making  white  or  bright  colored  spots  on  the  weights 
with  chalk,  paint  or  paper  will  greatly  assist  such 
observations. 

Perfect  adjustment  may  he  recognised  by  the  following 


50  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

performance:  On  starting  the  engine  gradually  the 
weights  will  not  start  outward  till  the  proper  speed  is 
very  nearly  reached  —  so  nearly  so  that  the  lack  of  it 
is  not  noticeable  —  when  they  will  expand  quickly 
but  not  violently,  or  so  as  to  strike  the  outward  stop; 
going  out,  however,  nearly  their  full  range,  when  if  the 
load  driven  is  heavy  enough  to  require  less  expansion, 
they  will  promptly  return  to  the  requred  position. 

If,  however,  they  make  a  few  slight  oscillations  to 
and  fro  past  their  position  no  harm  will  result,  if  only 
they  always  settle  in  good  time.  Very  dose  regulation 
requires  that  the  equilibrium  shall  be  at  tbe  very  verge 
of  instability,  a  proposition  that  will  be  recognized  by 
all  who  have  thoroughly  studied  the  subject,  as  true 
of  all  centrifugal  governors. 

Auxiliaries  too  weak.  The  performance  in  such  case 
will  be  the  same  in  kind  as  though  they  were  absent 
entirely,  though  more  moderate  in  degree.  On  start- 
ing, the  engine  will  run  above  its  proper  speed  before 
the  levers  will  expand,  when  they  will  fly  out  violently, 
and  stable  regulation  will  be  possible  only  with  loads 
so  light  as  to  regulate  at  one-fourth  stroke  cut-off  or 
earlier,  that  is,  such  as  require  the  levers  to  act  only 
in  the  outer  half  of  their  range  of  movement.  At 
heavier  loads,  the  governor  will  race  continually. 

Auxiliaries  too  strong.  On  starting  up  the  levers 
will  start  out  at  noticeably  less  than  proper  speed  and 
expand  gradually  as  speed  increases  till  the  limit  of 
the  follow  of  the  auxiliaries  is  reached,  when  if  they 
are  much  too  strong,  the  expanding  movement  will 
stop  a  little  till  proper  speed  is  reached,  when  they 


THE   BUCKEYE   ENGINE   GOVERNOR  51 

will  finish  their  expansion  with  proper  promptness. 
The  regulation  will  be  the  same  as  in  both  previous 
cases  when  the  load  is  too  light  to  bring  the  auxiliaries 
into  action,  but  with  heavier  -loads  the  speed  will  be 
slow  in  proportion  to  the  undue  strength  of  the 
springs.  At  maximum  load,  that  is,  just  sufficient 
load  to  bring  the  levers  to  their  inner  stops,  the 
speed  will  be  reduced  to  about  what  was  required  to 
start  them  out. 

In  all  of  the  three  foregoing  cases  the  tension  of  the 
main  springs  is  assumed  to  be  what  it  should  be  with 
the  auxiliaries  at  their  best  adjustment. 

To  enable  the  engineer,  whose  engine  is  without 
them,  to  judge  whether  and  to  what  extent  his  regula- 
tion would  be  improved  by  their  application,  we  give 
a  description  of  a  performance  capable  of  improve- 
ment, assuming  the  tension  of  the  main  springs  to  be 
all  that  can  be  carried  without  racing  at  any  load, 
which  is  always  less  than  will  be  needed  when  auxiliaries 
are  applied. 

Best  regulation  without  auxiliaries.  At  starting  the 
levers  will  not  start  out  till  proper  speed  is  nearly 
reached  (as  per  81),  but  they  will  expand  quickly  only 
in  part;  from  about  mid-movement  outwards  the  expan- 
sion will  go  on  only  as  speed  increases,  requiring  a 
greater  increase  of  speed  to  expand  them  to  near  their 
outer  limits  than  that  which  sufficed  to  expand  them 
through  the  inner  half  of  their  movements. 

The  regulation  in  such  case  may  be  good  at  all  loads 
requiring  one-fourth  stroke  cut-off  and  later  but  with 
lighter  loads,  requiring  earlier  than  one-fourth  stroke 


52  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

cut-off,  the  speed  will  vary  much  more  with  a  given 
change  of  load  than  with  heavy  loads. 

The  strength  of  the  main  springs  is  however  a  factor 
of  some  influence  in  determining  the  degree  to  which 
the  foregoing  performance  falls  short  of  perfect  regu- 
lation. The  stronger  they  are  the  closer  the  regula- 
tion, throughout  the  whole  range,  that  can  be  had 
without  the  help  of  auxiliaries. 

From  the  above  it  might  appear  that,  given  main 
springs  strong  enough,  the  auxiliaries  might  be  dis- 
pensed with  entirely,  which  is  true  in  some  cases;  yet 
the  strength  necessary  to  obtain  that  result  in  all 
cases  would  impose  such  severe  pressure  on  the  lever 
pivots  that  the  resultant  friction  would  interfere  to 
some  extent  with  fine  regulation. 

It  is  a  matter  of  many  year's  experience  that  the 
closest  and  most  sensitive  regulation  possible  requires 
that  the  forces  in  equilibrium  within  the  governor  be 
not  so  great  but  that  the  work  imposed  on  it  will  very 
slightly  disturb  the  equilibrium  at  each  stroke,  so  as  to 
overcome  the  static  friction  of  the  joints  and  eccentric 
sleeve,  and  enable  the  parts  to  adjust  themselves  to 
the  load  requirements  without  having  to  await  an 
objectionable  change  of  speed  to  do  it.  And  when 
the  forces  are  weak  enough  to  be  thus  sensitized  there 
is  left  a  small  margin  of  improvement  to  be  effected 
by  the  auxiliary  springs. 

Applying  auxiliary  springs  to  old  engines.  As  be- 
fore stated  they  were  not  used  till  1884,  and  although 
many  have  been  since  applied  to  engines  built  before 
that  time,  there  are  still  many  running  without  them. 


THE  BUCKEYE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR      53 

The  indications  for  their  use  have  been  already  given, 
but  when  such  indications  are  present,  the  main  springs 
should  be  examined,  and  if  of  the  kind  now  made, 
namely,  with  hooks  on  one  end  only,  the  other  being 
closed  with  a  cast  head  threaded  for  the  tension  screw, 
and  if  figures  can  be  found  stamped  on  the  heads  we 
would  recommend  the  parties  to  advise  us  as  to  the 
power  of  their  springs,  and  if  the  requirements  for 
regulation  are  not  exceptionally  exacting,  it  may 
happen  that  a  stronger  pair  of  springs,  with  required 
weights,  will  be  better  on  the  whole  than  the  appli- 
cation of  the  auxiliaries.  (Our  records,  however,  give 
the  spring  force  in  all  engines  shipped  since  and  includ- 
ing October  9,  1882.) 

To  apply  auxiliary  springs.  This  should  be  done 
in  all  cases  where  best  possible  regulation  is  desired, 
as  is  generally  the  case  with  electric  lighting  plants 
or  engines  to  be  used  wholly  or  partly  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

We  can  send  the  springs,  bolts  and  fingers  adapted 
for  use  with  existing  levers,  as  shown  in  Fig.  14,  or 
we  can  at  not  materially  greater  cost  send  new  levers 
with  fingers  fitted  as  shown  in  Figs.  12  and  13. 

To  fit  to  existing  levers,  f-in.  or  !£-in.  holes  should 
be  drilled  through  the  cast  heads  of  the  levers  as 
near  the  pivot  holes  as  possible  without  danger  of 
breaking  into  them,  and  at  right  angles  to  both  the 
levers  and  the  pivot  holes.  The  surfaces  around  the 
holes  at  each  side  should  be  faced  by  chipping,  or  better, 
"rousting"  if  a  machine-shop  is  in  reach,  —  to  receive 
the  lock-nuts  shown,  and  give  them  a  fair  bearing. 


54 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


The  springs  are  bolted  to  the  rim  as  shown  in  Fig. 
12,  the  arigular  position  selected  being  such  that  the 
fingers  will  just  catch  with  certainty  at  their  shortest 
reach. 

When  the  springs  are  secured  in  position,  the  eccen- 
tric should  be  turned  forward  till  the  fingers  leave 


FIG.    14 

contact  with  the  spring,  which  should  happen  when 
the  levers  are  about  half  way  out  or  a  little  more. 
If  they  leave  contact  too  early  or  too  late,  they  should 
be  taken  off  and  bent  outwards  or  inwards,  as  required, 
till  they  follow  as  above.  They  are  not  tempered  and 
will  not  break. 

Add  tension  to  the  main  springs  till  regulation  is  as 
close  as  desired  between  lightest  and  medium  or  stand- 
ard load. 

Correct  -the  speed  by  adding  to  weights,  shifting 
them  from  pivots,  or  diminishing  spring  leverage,  or 
by  two  or  more  of  these  adjustments. 

Compare  performance  with  foregoing  descriptions.     If 


THE  BUCKEYE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR      55 

the  springs  appear  too  weak  give  the  fingers  more 
reach.  If  too  strong  (as  will  be  more  likely  the  case) 
take  one  of  them  off.  If  still  too  strong,  grind  one 
weaker  and  use  it  alone.  Grind  liberally  and  fearlessly, 
for  if  it  is  made  too  weak  the  other  can  be  similarly 
ground  and  applied,  or  finger  given  more  reach. 
Strength  is  easier  got  than  weakness,  yet  the  lesson  is 
more  instructive  if  the  point  of  insufficient  strength 
is  reached  and  carefully  corrected. 

To  CHANGE  SPEED 

For  any  considerable  change  of  speed  the  weights 
should  be  changed,  the  proper  weight  for  desired  speed 
being  found  by  rules  already  given. 

Slight  changes,  however,  can  mostly  be  made  by 
adjustments,  of  which  the  following  are  preferable: 

To  INCREASE  SPEED 

A.  Increase  of  spring  tension  may  be  tried,  and  if 
when  the  desired  increase  of  speed  is  effected  in  that 
way  the    regulation   remains    sufficiently  stable,   i.e., 
free  from  tendency  to  race  at  any  time,  the  correct 
adjustment  has  been  made,  and  the  regulation  will 
be  closer  than  before.     But  if  the  tension  has  been 
made  what  it  should  be  —  all  that  can  be  carried  with- 
out racing  —  it  cannot  be  increased,  in  which  case 

B.  The  weights  may  he  shifted  towards  the  pivots 
of  the  levers,  provided  they  are  not  already  as  far  in 
that  direction  as  permissible.     [They  should  not  be 
far  from  central  over  their  stops  in  that  direction.] 


56  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

C.  The  spring  leverage  may  be  increased  by  slipping 
the  spring  clips  farther  from  the  pivots,  provided  the 
link  heads  are  not  thereby  caused  to  strike  the  springs 
at  mid-movement,  as  may  be  tested  by  turning  the 
eccentric  forward  past  its  mid-position.  A  slight  in- 
terference so  detected  will  not  matter,  as  when  running, 
centrifugal  force  will  bow  the  springs  outward,  if  not 
too  closely  restrained  by  the  restraining  rollers  now 
applied  in  many  cases  to  high-speed  engines. 

When  the  spring  leverage  is  increased,  an  increase 
of  spring  tension  equal  in  amount  to  about  one-half 
the  increase  of  leverage  becomes  admissible  as  the 
maximum  possible  tension  is  a  certain  portion  of  the 
leverage  (not  to  the  same  in  all  cases  exactly,  however), 
not  a  certain  absolute  amount. 

To  DECREASE  SPEED 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  evident  that 

A.  Spring  tension  may  be  reduced  if  leverage  is  re- 
duced twice  as  much  at  same  time,  without  introduc- 
ing greater  speed  variation,  as  reducing  spring  tension 
alone  would  do.     But  this  adjustment  should  not  be 
resorted  to  for  any  considerable  change  of  speed,  as 
it  introduces  objectionable  weakness  in  the  governor. 

B.  The  weights  may  be  shifted  farther  from  the  lever 
pivots,  if  not  already  so  far  from  their  normal  position 
in  that  direction  as  to  render  any  further  shifting  objec- 
tionable, though  no  trouble  is  to  be  apprehended  so 
long  as  they  are  clear  of  the  links  in  all  positions. 

C.  Spring    leverage    may    be    reduced   without    con- 


THE   BUC¥E-^lNE   GOVERNOR  57 


current  reduction  of  spring  tension,  provided  the  latter 
is  not  at  a  maximum.  The  test  of  that  is  the  perform- 
ance; if  racing  is  not  induced,  the  adjustment  is  ad- 
missible. 

To  REDUCE  SPEED  VARIATION 

A.  Increase  spring  tension,  if  possible  without  danger 
of  overstraining. 

B.  Diminish  spring  leverage,  if  not  already  as  much 
as  advisable  less  than  normal. 

C.  As  A  increases  speed  and  B  reduces  it,  a  certain 
combination  of  both  together,  that  is,  about  twice 
as  much  reduction  of  leverage  as  increase  of  tension 
will  accomplish  the  desired  result  without  change  of 
mean  speed. 

//  racing  results,  note  whether  it  occurs  at  heavy  loads 
only,  or  at  all  loads.  If  at  heavy  loads  only,  make  the 
auxiliary  springs  follow  noticeably  more  than  half  of  the 
lever  movement,  and  try  first  with  one  of  them  removed, 
and  if  one  alone  appears  too  weak,  try  greater  reach 
of  finger. 

If  all  adjustments  of  the  auxiliaries,  however,  fail 
to  cure  the  racing,  it  may  be  concluded  that  the  previ- 
ous adjustments  A  B  have  been  overdone. 

RACING  FROM  ALL  CAUSES 

Enough  has  been  said  to  make  the  engineer  per- 
fectly familiar  with  the  fact  that  racing  may  always  be 
stopped  by  reducing  spring  tension,  increasing  spring 
leverage,  or  both,  and  nearly  always  by  increasing  the 


58  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

force,  or  prolonging  the  follow  of  the  auxiliary  springs. 
But  cases  may  arise  when  none  of  these  adjustments 
should  be  made.  Such  is  presumably  the  case  when 
it  appears  spontaneously  under  adjustments  that  have 
previously  given  satisfactory  regulation,  and  also  when 
the  tension  is  not  in  excess  of  that  given  in  the  table,  and 
it  refuses  to  yield  to  any  moderate  auxiliary  spring 
force  or  follow,  and  particularly  if,  when  cured  by 
auxiliary  spring  adjustments,  the  speed  variation  with 
load  changes  is  objectionably  great. 

In  such  cases  undue  friction  will  undoubtedly  be 
found  to  be  the  cause  of  the  trouble.  It  may  be  in  the 
lever  pivots,  the  ball  and  socket  joints  of  the  links  or 
the  loose  eccentric  on  the  shaft,  one  or  more  of  these 
bearings;  and  may  be  caused  by  over  tightness,  lack 
of  oil,  rust  or  gum.  Only  the  ball  joints  can  be  tested 
without  taking  the  governor  apart,  the  play  at  the 
necks  of  the  balls,  allowing  the  links  to  be  slightly 
rotated  back  and  forth,  and  when  this  can  be  done 
easily  they  are  free  enough.  The  lever  pivots  can  be 
tested  by  taking  off  the  retaining  nuts  and  washers  of 
the  studs  and  slipping  the  levers  partly  off,  when  the 
condition  of  the  exposed  surface  will  be  apparent,  and 
the  needed  remedy  (cleaning  and  oil)  readily  applied. 
But  to  test  the  condition  of  the  eccentric  bearing  per- 
fectly, the  eccentric  should  be  both  unstrapped  and 
disconnected  from  the  levers  so  as  to  be  rotated  freely 
on  the  shaft.  If  dry  or  gummed,  it  may  be  simply 
oiled  with  or  without  preliminary  doses  of  turpentine 
or  kerosene,  but  if  this  fails  to  eliminate  all  sticking 
points,  the  governor  should  be  slipped  back  or  taken 


THE  BUCKEYE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR      59 

off  to  allow  the  eccentric  to  be  moved  aside  (the  larger 
sizes  are  made  in  halves  and  hence  can  be  removed) 
when  any  brusies  or  tight  points  can  be  discovered  and 
corrected. 

New  engines  will  seldom  require  such  treatment 
unless  the  eccentric  has  been  too  closely  fitted,  but 
older  ones,  especially  after  standing  some  time,  or  the 
use  of  gummy  oil,  may  need  it. 

The  kind  of  racing  caused  by  friction  is,  however, 
noticeably  different  from  that  due  to  over  tension  or 
insufficient  auxiliary  spring  force,  as  follows:  when 
caused  by  friction  the  levers  will  expand  and  stick  in 
that  position  till  speed  falls  more  or  less  according  to 
the  amount  of  friction,  when  they  will  drop  in  and 
again  stick  till  the  speed  increases  sufficiently  to  again 
expand  them,  and  so  on.  Apparent  sticking  on  the 
inner  position  is  not  to  be  taken  as  evidence  of  friction, 
since  that  will  happen  with  insufficient  auxiliary  spring 
force;  but  nothing  but  friction  will  cause  dwell  in  the 
outer  position,  during  considerable  change  of  speed. 

Over-packing  the  cut-off  stem  will  disturb  the  equilib- 
rium of  the  governor  and  cause  irregular  action,  but 
not  usually  racing  as  above  described,  but  rather 
irregular  flopping  in  and  out  of  the  levers. 

The  cut-off  stem  should  not  be  packed  with  any  of 
the  hard  kinds  of  packing,  and  such  soft  kind  as  may 
be  used  (candle  wick  is  as  good  as  anything)  should  be 
renewed  often  enough  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  screw- 
ing it  up  so  tight  as  to  cause  friction  enough  to  dis- 
turb the  governor  and  wear  the  rod  out. 

Undue  friction  of  the  eccentric  straps,  whether  from 


60  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

lack  of  oil  or  too  light  adjustment  will  sometimes  cause 
racing,  accompanied  by  acceleration  of  speed,  much  as 
though  the  spring  tension  had  been  considerably  in- 
creased. Some  acceleration  of  speed  always  results 
from  this  cause,  even  when  racing  does  not,  and  the 
same  is  true,  though  to  a  less  extent  of  undue  friction 
of  the  cut-off  valve,  its  stem  packing  or  its  rocker- 
shaft  and  pins;  and,  as  no  other  accidental  change 
(except  the  slipping  backwards  of  the  governor  wheel) 
can  cause  acceleration,  when  that  symptom  appears 
attention  should  be  at  once  directed  to  the  conditions 
of  the  parts  named. 

The  difference  between  the  effects  of  undue  friction 
of  the  above-named  parts,  and  of  the  working  parts 
of  the  governor  and  the  eccentric  on  the  shaft  should 
be  well  understood  by  the  engineer.  Friction  of  the 
latter  parts  may  be  called  static  friction,  as  it  tends 
to  hold  the  parts  concerned  stationary,  relatively  to 
the  shaft  and  wheel,  as  against  the  movements  re- 
quired for  cut-off  variation,  in  both  directions  alike, 
while  friction  of  the  other  parts  named  tends  to  pull 
the  levers  of  the  governor  inwards,  hence  it  may  be 
called  dynamic  friction,  or  since  inward  pull  on  the 
levers  is  a  centripetal  action,  like  that  of  the  main 
springs  it  may  be  more  descriptively  called  centripetal 
friction. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  understood  that  it  is  the 
static  friction  that  most  tends  to  cause  racing  when 
in  excess.  Of  the  parts  concerned  in  producing  cen- 
tripetal friction  only  undue  friction  of  the  eccentric 
straps  will  cause  racing,  because  that  of  the  other  parts, 


THE  BUCKEYE  ENGINE   GOVERNOR  61 

being  absent  at  the  dead  centers  of  the  eccentric  move- 
ment, is  too  intermittent  to  cause  any  other  disturb- 
ance than  that  already  described  in  Sec.  116.  The 
eccentric  strap  friction,  on  the  other  hand,  is  tolerably 
constant,  and  consequently  acts  like  increased  spring 
tension. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  there  are 
three  frictional  effects  going  on  in  the  governor,  namely, 
the  static,  the  constant  centripetal,  that  of  the  eccentric 
straps  only,  and  the  intermittent  centripetal,  that  of  the 
cut-off  valve,  its  stem  and  the  joints  and  bearings  of 
its  gear. 

The  static  and  the  intermittent  centripetal  frictions, 
when  normal,  counteract  each  other's  bad  effects,  so 
that  regulation  can  be,  and  mostly  is,  as  sensitive  as 
though  all  parts  were  entirely  frictionless.  Thus,  the 
former  prevents  the  latter  from  jerking  the  levers  in- 
ward to  an  objectionable  degree  each  stroke,  yet  not 
so  effectually  but  that  it  (the  static  friction)  is  over- 
come and  the  eccentric  turned  by  a  minute  amount 
at  each  jerk,  while  it  recovers  its  position  by  contrary 
movements  between  jerks.  The  static  friction  being 
thus  overcome  four  times  in  each  revolution,  in  each 
direction  alternately,  is  practically  neutralised  leaving 
the  governor  entirely  free  to  respond  instantly  to  all 
changes  of  load  or  pressure. 

The  Constant  Centripetal  effect  of  the  friction  of  the 
eccentric  straps  has  no  material  effect  on  the  sensitive- 
ness of  the  governor;  it  only  slightly  increases  speed, 
other  things  equal. 

But  this  centripetal  effect  is  not  uniform  through- 


62  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

out  the  range  of  movement.  It  is  the  greatest  at  the 
extremes  of  the  range  where  the  angle  formed  by 
the  links  B  B  (Fig.  12)  with  a  line  joining  the  pins  in 
the  eccentric  ears  is  acute  or  obtuse,  and  least  near  the 
middle  of  the  range  where  it  is  a  right  angle.  From 
this  fact  results  the  need  for  the  auxiliary  springs. 
The  entire  theory  of  the  matter  need  not  be  explained 
here;  —  the  leading  lacts  being  sufficient  for  those  who 
do  not  care  to  study  the  subject  exhaustively. 

The  auxiliaries  permit  the  spring  tension  to  be  ad- 
justed to  the  requirements  of  the  outer  half  of  the  range 
of  movement,  while  they  prevent  the  tension  from 
being  in  excess  during  the  inner  half,  as  it  would  other- 
wise be. 

THE  THEORY  OF  SPRING  TENSION 

The  force  of  a  spring  increases  in  direct  proportion 
as  it  is  bent  (by  extension  in  present  case,  or  in  what- 
ever way  it  is  acted  on),  and  the  centrifugal  force  of 
a  body  in  like  manner  increases  in  direct  proportion 
as  it  moves  farther  from  the  center  of  motion,  the 
number  of  revolutions  per  minute  remaining  constant. 

Consequently,  in  the  absence  of  all  disturbing 
causes,  if  in  a  governor  of  the  kind  in  question,  the 
spring  tension  be  made  such  that  if  the  lever  be  moved 
inwards  till  its  center  of  force  reaches  the  center  of 
motion,  or  a  line  joining  its  pivot  and  the  center  of 
motion,  in  other  words,  its  %ero  of  centrifugal  force,  it 
(the  spring  tension)  would  reach  its  zero  at  the  same 
time,  the  two  forces  would  increase  in  the  same  ratio 
(at  a  constant  rotative  speed)  as  the  lever  moved 


THE   BUCKEYE  ENGINE   GOVERNOR  63 

outward,  and  consequently  the  speed  would  be  the 
same  at  all  points  in  the  range  of  movement;  in  other 
words,  the  regulation  would  be  isochronous. 

But  suppose  the  tension  to  be  less  than  this,  so  that 
as  the  lever  moved  inwards  the  zero  of  spring  force 
would  be  reached  before  that  of  centrifugal  force,  then, 
as  it  moved  outward  the  spring  force  would  increase 
more  rapidly  than  the  centrifugal  force  at  a  constant 
rotative  speed,  so  that  a  constantly  increasing  speed 
would  be  required  to  keep  the  forces  in  equilibrium, 
and  the  number  of  revolutions  the  speed  would  have 
to  increase  in  order  to  carry  the  lever  outwards  through 
its  range  of  movement  would  be  the  extreme  measure 
of  the  governor's  variation.  Thus,  if  100  revolu- 
tions in  a  given  time  be  required  to  start  the  levers  out- 
ward, and  105  in  same  time  to  expand  them  to  the 
outer  limits  of  their  range,  the  extreme  variation 
would  be  5  per  cent.,  which  would  be  tolerably  close 
regulation,  seeing  that  in  practice  the  changes  of  load 
and  pressure  seldom  cover  more  than  half  the  range. 

To  OBTAIN  CLOSEST  POSSIBLE  REGULATION 

Although  enough  has  been  said  in  Sees.  80  to  100  to 
cover  the  entire  ground,  yet  a  concise  rule  in  this 
place  will  be  convenient. 

i st.  Give  the  main  springs  all  the  tension  that 
can  be  carried  without  racing  at  any  load  from  nothing 
up  to  near  quarter  cut-off,  as  nearly  as  can  be  judged. 
If  indicator  cards  can  be  taken  to  show  range  of  cut- 
off the  test  will  be  far  more  intelligible.  If  tension 


64  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

cannot  be  given  as  desired,  on  account  of  fear  of  over- 
straining the  springs  or  lack  of  room  at  the  tension 
screws,  the  spring  leverage  may  be  reduced  a  little; 
but  in  some  way  get  tension  or  its  equivalent,  till  the 
regulation  within  the  above  range  is  as  close  as  desired. 
2d.  Count  the  speed  at  as  heavy  a  load  as  can  be 
applied  with  certainty  that  the  weights  do  not  touch 
their  stops.  If  indicator  cards  can  be  consulted, 
apply  load  till  it  shows  about  half-stroke  cut-off. 
Generally,  as  the  auxiliaries  are  adjusted  at  the 
works  this  speed  will  be  too  slow.  If  it  is  more  than 
3  or  4  per  cent,  slower  than  the  light  load  speed,  reduce 
the  auxiliary  spring  force  till  the  speed  is  brought  up 
as  near  the  light  load  speed  as  desirable.  Reduce 
first  by  diminishing  the  finger*  reach  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  if  this  fails  to  bring  the  speed  up  as  desired, 
take  off  one  of  the  springs.  If  still  too  slow,  grind 
the  remaining  one  weaker  unless  it  is  found  that  it 
follows  three-fourths  of  the  distance  out  or  more, 
when  it  may  be  sprung  together  a  little,  but  in  no  case 
so  much  as  to  reduce  the  follow  to  one-half  the  move- 
ment. It  should  be  noticeably  more  than  half,  unless 
less  is  finally  found  to  be  better  by  actual  comparative 
test.  If  now  no  racing  occurs  at  any  load,  the  adjust- 
ment will  probably  be  as  perfect  as  desired,  though  a 
count  of  as  many  intermediate  loads  within  the  range 
of  the  action  of  the  auxiliaries  as  possible  may  reveal 
some  irregularities  worth  while  correcting.  For  in- 
stance, if  on  counting  under  a  series  of  loads  from 

*  The  "fingers"  are  shown  in  Fig.  12,  at  p.p.     Reference  to  them  in  proper 
place  was  inadvertently  omitted. 


THE   BUCKEYE   ENGINE   GOVERNOR  65 

heaviest  down,  the  gain  of  speed  as  load  diminishes 
is  found  to  be  proportionately  too  rapid  at  first,  the 
auxiliaries  should  be  made  to  follow  out  farther,  but 
at  the  same  time  weakened  sufficiently  to  prevent 
making  the  half-cut  speed  any  slower,  as  would  happen 
if  the  spring  or  springs  were  simply  opened  to  prolong 
the  follow. 

But  the  last  correction  is  unnecessary  if  no  signs 
of  racing  appear;  the  regulation  within  the  proper 
working  range  will  be  closer  without  it,  but  bear  in 
mind  that  with  too  short  follow  the  light  load  regula- 
tion may  be  perfect  and  the  half-cut  speed  not  ob- 
jectionably slow,  yet  at  certain  loads  between  half 
and  quarter-cut  it  will  race,  or  come  too  near  it  for 
perfectly  satisfactory  performance. 

To  CHANGE  THE  DIRECTION  OF  MOTION 

The  main  eccentric  follows  the  crank  about  60  deg. 

The  governor,  however,  must  be  taken  apart  en- 
tirely; the  lever  pivot  studs  b  b  removed  to  the  holes 
shown  as  used  to  attach  the  guide  roller  carriers  G  G, 
but  which  will  be  found  unused  when  guide-rollers 
are  not  applied;  the  tension  screws  c  c  placed  in  the 
extra  holes  that  will  be  found  in  the  proper  place;  the 
auxiliary  springs  similarly  removed  to  the  places  pro- 
vided for  them,  and  the  whole  put  together  as  shown 
in  Fig.  12,  if  that  view  shows  the  desired  direction 
of  motion,  as  shown  by  the  arrow,  or  as  it  would  show 
if  viewed  in  a  looking-glass,  if  it  represents  the  reverse 
of  the  desired  direction. 


66  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

The  simple  rule,  to  so  put  together  that  when  the 
engine  runs  in  the  desired  direction  the  pivoted  ends 
of  the  levers  will  lead,  the  weights  follow,  and  so  that 
when  the  levers  move  outward  the  eccentric  will  be 
advanced,  i.e.,  turned  on  the  shaft  in  the  direction 
the  engine  is  to  run,  will  cover  the  case  so  far  as  in- 
structions should  be  needed,  the  proper  application 
of  the  main  springs  auxiliaries  and  guide-rollers  (if 
any)  being  simply  a  matter  of  making  them  perform 
their  functions  as  before. 

The  new  angular  position  of  the  wheel  is  found  by 
the  fact  that  when  the  weight  levers  are  on  their  inner 
stops,  the  governor  eccentric  and  crank  will  be  on 
their  dead  centers  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same 
direction. 


STRAIGHT-LINE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR 

THIS  governor,  a  cut  of  which  is  shown  in  Fig.  15, 
is  the  design  of  Prof.  John  E.  Sweet.  It  comes  under 
the  second  class  of  the  second  group  described  in 
Chapter  I. 

The  eccentric  A  is  mounted  on  the  disk  B  and  is 
pivoted  at  C.  The  eccentric  center  swings  across  the 
shaft  center  when  actuated  by  the  weight  D.  This 
weight  is  pocketed  for  shot  to  admit  of  changes  by 
taking  away  or  adding  to  the  weight.  The  weight 
and  arm  are  in  one  piece,  pivoted  by  the  pin  E.  The 
end  of  the  weight-arm  is  connected  to  the  eccentric 
disk  by  the  link  F.  The  spring  G  is  made  fast  to  the 
weight-arm  by  the  band  H.  The  adjustment  of  the 
spring-tension  is  obtained  at  the  point  /  by  slacking 
or  screwing  up  the  binding  bolt  K. 

To  increase  the  speed  of  the  engine,  increase  the  ten- 
sion of  the  spring,  or  decrease  the  weight,  or  both. 

To  decrease  the  engine-speed,  decrease  the  spring- 
tension,  or  increase  the  weight,  or  both. 

Bear  in  mind  that  if  the  proper  sensitiveness  has 
been  reached  and  only  the  speed  is  to  be  changed, 
the  change  should  be  made  in  the  weight  alone. 

//  the  governor  is  sluggish,  first  see  that  everything 
67 


68 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


STRAIGHT-LINE  ENGINE  GOVERNOR  69 

relating  to  the  valve-motion  is  free;  then,  if  still  slug- 
gish, add  more  spring-tension  and  more  shot  in  the 
weight  pocket. 

//  the  governor  races,  it  may  be  due  to  sticking  in 
some  of  the  joints  or  in  the  valve-rod;  if  these  are  free, 
decrease  the  spring-tension  and  take  away  shot  from 
the  weight. 


VI 

IDEAL  ENGINE  GOVERNORS 

THE  A.  L.  Ide  and  Sons  Co.  use  the  Rites  Inertia 
Governor  on  the  engines  they  now  put  out,  and  have 
done  so  for  some  time  past.  Chapter  III  of  this 
book,  with  the  remarks  here  given,  covers  all  there 
is  to  be  said  in  reference  to  the  adjustment  ^ of  these 
governors. 

The  Ide  Company  has  made  an  improvement  in 
the  Rites  governor  in  the  shape  of  a  revolvable  bronze 
bushing  shown  at  A  (Fig.  16).  Owing  to  the  fact 
that  great  wear  comes  on  this  pin,  this  bushing  is 
placed  there,  so  that  a  new  surface  can  be  turned  to 
the  wearing  side  of  the  pin  frequently.  This  is  done 
with  a  spanner-wrench  which  comes  with  the  engine. 
The  builders  recommend  that  the  bushing  be  re- 
volved a  little  each  day  when  the  governor  is  oiled. 
On  the  face  of  the  lug  B,  on  the  pulley-spoke  to 
which  the  spring  is  attached  are  stamped  figures 
which  indicate,  first,  the  speed  of  the  engine,  and 
second,  the  distance  that  the  eye-bolt  should  ex- 
tend through  the  nuts  in  order  to  adjust  the  governor 
as  it  was  adjusted  when  the  engine  was  tested  in  the 
shop.  The  spring  is  attached  to  the  governor-bar  by 
means  of  a  sliding  block  C  (Fig.  16).  The  block  is  in 

70 


IDEAL   ENGINE   GOVERNORS  71 

the  correct  position  when  the  line  marked  on  it  is 
even  with  the  line  marked  on  the  bar. 

These  builders,  in  former  years,  put  on  the  market 
a  centrifugal  governor  of  which  Fig.  17  is  a  cut,  and 


FIG.   1 6 


as  many  are  still  in  use,  some  instructions  regarding 
them  will  follow.  In  taking  this  governor  apart  for 
oiling  and  cleaning,  allow  the  sliding  block  A,  which 
holds  the  end  of  the  governor-spring,  to  remain  with 
its  outer  edge  on  a  line  with  the  mark  across  the  face 
of  the  slide,  and  in  readjusting  the  spring,  place  the 


72  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

same  tension  on  it  as  was  on  it  originally.  This  can 
be  ascertained  by  measuring  the  length  of  thread 
through  the  nuts  before  slackening  them.  On  this 
type  of  governor  which  is  designated  in  the  second 


FIG.   17 


class  of  the  second  group  in  Chapter  I,  the  weight  B 
can  be  moved  back  and  forth  on  the  lever  C  by  slacken- 
ing the  set-screw  until  the  weight  can  be  moved  by 
hand.  This  will  have  the  effect  of  adding  to  or  taking 
from  the  weight. 


IDEAL   ENGINE   GOVERNORS  73 

Moving  the  weight  out  toward  the  end  of  the  lever 
has  the  effect  of  increasing  it,  and  moving  it  in  toward 
the  fulcrum  pin  D  has  the  effect  of  decreasing  the 
same. 

Changes  of  speed  should  be  made  with  the  weight. 

To  get  increased  speed  move  the  weight  in  toward 
the  fulcrum-pin. 

To  decrease  speed,  move  the  weight  toward  the  end 
of  the  lever. 

To  make  the  governor  more  sensitive,  move  the  block 
A,  Fig.  17,  toward  rim  of  wheel. 

To  make  it  less  sensitive  and  correct  it  for  racing, 
move  block  A  toward  hub  of  wheel. 

The  face  of  the  slide  is  marked  with  a  line  where  the 
outer  edge  of  the  block  which  holds  the  spring  should 
stand.  Figures  stamped  on  the  face  of  the  slide  show 
the  distance  that  the  end  of  the  eye-bolt  should  ex- 
tend through  nuts.  This  gives  the  right  tension  on 
the  spring.  Tightening  the  spring  will  give  closer 
regulation,  but  if  the  spring  is  too  tight,  it  will  cause 
the  governor  to  "race."  "Racing"  caused  by  over- 
tension  of  the  spring  can  be  stopped  by  moving  the 
block  nearer  to  the  center  of  the  wheel. 


VII 


ADJUSTMENT  OF  FLEMING  ENGINE  GOV- 
ERNORS* 

THE  governor  used  on  Fleming  engines,  built  by 
the  Harrisburg  Foundry  and  Machine  Works  of  Harris- 
burg,  Pa.,  is  of  the  "Centrally  Balanced  Centrifugal 
Inertia  type,"  shown  in  Fig.  18.  Assuming  one  of  these 
governors  to  be  out  of  adjustment,  the  weights  being 
removed  from  pockets  A  and  B  and  the  springs  loose, 
in  order  to  properly  adjust  proceed  as  follows: 

FIRST  ADJUSTMENT 

Locate  the  outer  ends  of  the  springs  about  the  center 
of  the  slots,  refer  to  table  (page  76)  for  the  size  of 
spring  corresponding  to  that  in  the  governor,  noting 
the  initial  deflection.  Draw  up  the  two  bolts  C,  C, 
sufficiently  to  stretch  each  of  these  springs  by  the 
amount  of  this  deflection.  Now  start  the  engine  and 
bring  it  up  to  speed,  pocket-weights  being  removed  and 
springs  given  tension  shown  in  the  same  table.  If  the 
engine  runs  much  too  slowly  the  springs  are  too  light 
and  a  heavier  set  should  be  used  to  get  the  desired 
speed.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  it  runs  too  fast,  add  one 

*  This  governor  comes  under  the  second  class  of  group  two  in  Chapter  I. 
74 


FLEMING   ENGINE   GOVERNORS 


75 


weight  of  equal  thickness  to  each  of  the  pockets,  A 
and  B,  placing  the  weights  of  larger  diameter  in  A 


FIG.    l8 


pockets  and  the  smaller  ones  in  B  pockets;  if  it  still 
runs  too  fast,  add  another  set  of  weights  of  equal  thick- 
ness, selecting  the  proper  thickness  to  reach  the  de- 
sired speed. 


76 


SHAFT    GOVERNORS 
SPRINGS  FOR  HARRISBURG   GOVERNORS 


O.D. 

Wire 

Total  Coils 

Init.  Def. 

Def.  Due  to  Gov.  Throw 

Total   Extension 

2    " 

fV 

23 

1  ** 

li" 

2  |  " 

if 

TV 

27 

iTy 

iir 

2li" 

2    " 

f" 

33 

if" 

ii" 

2|" 

25" 

1* 

33 

iT5e" 

ii" 

2];}" 

2j" 

I" 

33 

i  \" 

ii" 

3    * 

2l" 

iV 

33 

IiV/ 

II" 

3i^ 

2§" 

7  // 
T6 

35 

\\" 

i|" 

3s" 

2i" 

iV 

39 

2       " 

at* 

4i" 

2j" 

\" 

39 

if" 

2|" 

\\" 

2r 

-h" 

39 

2  f" 

2i" 

4  I" 

-i// 

I" 

31 

32" 

2J" 

6  j  " 

ar 

I" 

33 

3     " 

4" 

5r 

To  ADJUST  TO  THE  PROPER  POINT  OF  SENSITIVENESS 

If  the  governor  "races"  or  "weaves,"  move  the 
clamp  to  which  the  outer  end  of  the  spring  is  attached 
in  the  slot  farther  from  the  rim  of  the  wheel,  that  is, 
toward  D.  If  this  does  not  entirely  correct  the  racing 
tendency,  screw  the  spring-plugs  farther  into  the 
springs  and  adjust  the  tension  for  proper  speed.  Tak- 
ing out  thin  weights  of  equal  thickness  from  each 
pocket  and  reducing  the  spring  tension  also  assists 
in  checking  a  racing  tendency. 

To  CORRECT  SLUGGISHNESS 

If  the  governor  is  too  sluggish,  that  is,  not  suffi- 
ciently sensitive  in  order  to  reach  the  proper  speed, 


FLEMING   ENGINE   GOVERNORS  77 

add  a  thin  weight  of  equal  thickness  to  each  pocket 
and  increase  the  spring-tension.  The  spring-tension, 
however,  must  not  be  increased  to  such  an  extent  as 
will  make  the  initial  deflection,  when  added  to  the 
deflection  or  tension  due  to  governor  throw,  greatly 
exceed  the  total  deflection  shown  in  the  last  column 
of  table,  and  corresponding  to  that  of  these  springs. 
While  the  total  extension  of  the  springs  may  some- 
times slightly  exceed  that  given  in  the  table,  there  is 
danger  of  injury  to  the  spring  by  a  greater  extension. 
If  still  greater  sensitiveness  is  desired,  move  the  clamp 
to  which  the  outer  end  of  the  spring  is  attached,  in 
the  slot  nearer  to  the  rim  of  the  wheel.  Screwing 
the  plugs  a  part  of  a  turn  out  of  the  springs  and 
increasing  the  tension  will  make  the  governor  more 
sensitive. 

If,  with  these  adjustments,  the  governor  cannot  be 
made  sufficiently  sensitive,  the  springs  are  too  heavy, 
and  a  lighter  set  should  be  used. 

In  cases  where  these  governors  are  equipped  with 
dash-pots,  a  sluggish  action  of  the  governor  on  start- 
ing up  in  a  cold  engine-room  is  sometimes  due  to  the 
fluid  in  the  dash-pot  being  cold  and  thick.  This 
trouble  will  usually  disappear  after  the  engine  has 
run  a  short  time. 

To  CORRECT  FOR  SPEEDING  UP 

If  the  engine  speeds  up  when  the  load,  is  thrown 
off,  it  is  either  because  the  valve  has  too  much  lead  or 
is  sticking  through  lack  of  proper  lubrication,  or 
may  possibly  be  leaking,  due  to  wear,  as  speeding 


78  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

Up,  due  to  the  adjustment  of  these  governors,  is  not 
likely  to  occur. 

CARE  OF  GOVERNOR 

The  governor  is  a  simple  piece  of  mechanism,  but 
it  is  one  of  the  most  important  parts  about  the  engine, 


©      © 


FIG.  19 


FLEMING   ENGINE   GOVERNORS  79 

and  should  be  so  treated.  The  springs  should  be  dis- 
connected occasionally,  and  the  governor  parts  and 
valve  gearing  should  be  tested,  by  hand,  for  freedom 
of  all  bearings  and  joints.  It  is  also  a  good  plan  to 
take  the  governor  bearings  apart  occasionally,  and 
examine  them  to  see  that  they  are  getting  proper 
lubrication.  Clean  them  thoroughly  before  putting 
them  together  again.  Before  starting  up  the  engine 
always  see  that  all  bolts  and  nuts  are  tight.  If  the 
governor  is  equipped  with  dash-pots  keep  them  full 
of  either  glycerine  or  equal  parts  of  cylinder  and 
engine  oil.  Fig.  19  shows  the  governor  with  the 
weights  out  of  the  pockets. 


VIII 


McINTOSH,     SEYMOUR     AND     GO.'S     ENGINE 
GOVERNOR 

THIS  type  of  governor  comes  under  first  class  and 
group  of  Chapter  I.     The  governor  is  shown  in  detail 


ENGINE   GOVERNOR 


81 


in  Fig.  20.    This  figure  shows  the  one  governor  in 
two  positions. 

The  position  of  the  governor  parts  when  the  engine 
is  not  running  is  shown  at  the  left.     The  centrifugal 


FIG.    20 


weights  are  at  their  inner  limit  of  travel  and  the  gov- 
ernor eccentric  is  so  placed  as  to  give  maximum  cut- 
off. In  the  view  at  the  right  the  centrifugal  weights 
have  moved  into  their  extreme  outer  position,  and  at 
the  same  time  have  pulled  ahead  the  eccentric,  to 


82  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

which  they  are  connected  by  links  and  which  is  free 
to  revolve  on  the  shaft,  sufficiently  to  cut  off  the 
steam  entirely  from  entering  the  cylinder.  This  con- 
dition is  approached  when  the  engine  is  running 
and  the  load  is  thrown  off.  The  centrifugal  force  of 
each  weight  is  opposed  in  a  direct  and  practically 
frictionless  manner  by  a  plate-spring  A,  A,  through 
a  hardened  steel  pin  B,  B,  with  a  ball-and-socket 
bearing  at  the  end  of  the  spring  and  at  the  center 
of  gravity  of  the  weight,  so  that  there  is  no  friction 
or  pressure  due  to  this  force  upon  the  pin  upon  which 
the  weight  swings.  This  permits  the  use  of  a  very 
heavy  weight,  having  great  centrifugal  force  and 
making  the  governor  powerful.  There  are  provisions 
for  grease  lubrication  of  all  wearing  surfaces.  The 
tension  pins  between  springs  and  centrifugal  weights 
are  arranged  to  telescope,  in  order  that  they  can  be 
adjusted  to  secure  proper  sensitiveness;  for  by  length- 
ening these  pins  the  governor  can  be  made  to  regulate 
more  closely,  and  by  shortening  them,  over-sensi- 
tiveness or  racing  can  be  removed.  Dash-pots  are 
provided,  which  give  stability  to  the  governor,  so  that 
it  can  be  adjusted  to  give  nearly  perfect  regulation 
without  any  tendency  to  race  under  a  fluctuating 
load. 

The  speed  at  which  the  engine  will  run  can  be  raised 
or  lowered  by  reducing  or  increasing  respectively  the 
small  lead  weights  C,  C,  C,  C,  provided  for  that  purpose 
in  holes  in  the  centrifugal  weights.  This  adjustment 
should  be  made  last,  for  it  does  not  alter  the  sensitive- 
ness of  the  governor  to  change  the  speed  in  this  way, 


ENGINE   GOVERNOR  83 

while  any  adjustment  of  the  sensitiveness  as  described 
above  also  changes  the  speed. 

The  governors  of  Mclntosh  and  Seymour  engines, 
when  designed  for  driving  alternating-current  genera- 
tors in  parallel,  are  provided  with  patent  compound 
time-delayed  dash-pots,  without  which  successful 
parallel  operation  is  impossible  with  generators  of 
large  size  and  high  frequency.  When  two  alternating- 
current  generators  are  running  in  parallel,  each  gen- 
erator has  a  tendency  to  oscillate  back  and  forth  with 
reference  to  the  other,  with  periodic  transfer  of  load 
from  one  generator  to  the  other,  called  "surging." 
A  governor,  which  is  properly  sensitive,  without  the 
time-delay  dash-pot,  must  respond  to  these  fluctua- 
tions of  speed,  and  when  the  conditions  are  such  as 
exist  with  large  generators  of  high  frequency,  reso- 
nance is  produced;  that  is,  the  action  of  the  governor 
tends  to  increase  the  speed  fluctuations,  causing  the 
surging  to  build  up  from  an  imperceptible  beginning 
until  parallel  running  is  impossible.  If  the  governor 
is  dampened  by  ordinary  devices  sufficiently  to  stop 
this  effect,  it  will  fail  to  control  the  speed  properly, 
with  danger  of  the  engine  running  away  if  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  load  is  suddenly  thrown  off.  The 
compound  time-delay  dash-pots  dampen  heavily  the 
governor-action  for  any  fluctuations  of  speed  of  very 
short  duration,  such  as  those  just  described;  but  under 
the  action  of  even  the  slightest  change  of  speed,  if 
persistent  beyond  this  short  interval  of  time,  they 
automatically  release  the  governor  avoiding  any 
impairment  whatever  of  the  speed  regulation. 


OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY 


84  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

A  speed  changer  is  sometimes  placed  on  governors 
where  synchronizing  of  units  is  desired. 

The  mechanism  of  the  speed  changer  consists  of  an 
auxiliary  weight  arranged  to  slide  on  the  main  cen- 
trifugal governor-weight,  while  the  engine  is  running, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  change  the  speed  of  the  engine  by 
altering  the  centrifugal  force  to  be  resisted  by  the  gov- 
ernor spring.  The  auxiliary  weight  is  moved  by  a 
screw  which  in  turn  is  rotated  by  a  small  electric  motor 
mounted  on  the  governor-weight. 

This  motor  can  be  connected  electrically,  through 
a  collector  on  the  engine  shaft,  to  a  double-throw 
starting-switch  on  the  station  switchboard,  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  amount  and  direction  of  the  motion 
of  the  electric  motor  can  be  controlled  by  the  starting- 
switch  so  as  to  give  the  desired  change  of  speed. 

ADJUSTING  GOVERNOR  OF  A  NEW  ENGINE 

Put  all  the  lead  pieces  in  the  holes  in  governor- 
weights  and  tighten  the  set-screws  well  down  into 
them.  Then,  with  the  shortest  length  of  tube  in  the 
governor  adjusting  pins  (B,  B,  Fig.  20),  put  the  pins 
in  place  between  ends  of  springs  and  governor-weights, 
care  being  taken  to  have  the  ends  of  pins  well  greased. 
Be  sure  that  the  bolting  of  governor-spring  is  secure, 
and  that  all  governor  parts  are  ready  for  service. 
Then  start  the  engine  non-condensing  and  without 
load,  opening  the  throttle  little  by  little  so  that  the 
speed  may  increase  very  gradually. 

Count  the  speed  from  time  to  time  to  make  sure 


ENGINE   GOVERNOR  85 

that  it  does  not  exceed  the  rated  or  normal  speed  by 
more  than  5  per  cent.  At  no  time  should  the  speed 
be  allowed  to  exceed  this  amount.  If  the  above  in- 
structions have  been  followed  the  governor  will  prob- 
ably control  the  engine  at  some  speed  considerably 
below  its  normal  speed.  If,  however,  the  engine  runs 
up  above  normal  speed,  and  the  governor-weights 
have  not  then  opened  wide,  the  governor  does  not 
control  the  speed  properly  and  it  may  be  necessary 
to  change  its  adjustment.  Before  doing  this,  however, 
make  an  examination  as  follows:  See  that  the  springs 
do  not  rub  hard  against  the  spring-guides,  and  that 
they  do  not  strike  the  bottom  of  spring-guide  or  any 
other  part  of  the  wheel  when  in  outer  position.  Then 
remove  the  springs,  disconnecting  the  auxiliary  eccen- 
trics from  the  valve-gear,  and  see  that  the  governor- 
weight  when  connected  to  eccentric-sleeve,  swings 
freely  from  inner  to  outer  positions  and  strikes  against 
stop-pins.  Make  perfectly  sure  that  eccentric-sleeve 
turns  freely  on  shaft.  Connect  up  valve-gear  again 
and  make  sure  while  turning  the  engine  a  com- 
plete revolution,  that  the  cut-off  valves  are  entirely 
closed  when  the  governor-weights  are  in  the  outer 
position. 

If  no  trouble  has  been  discovered  in  any  of  these 
particulars  remove  the  second  leaf  from  each  spring, 
considering  the  shortest  leaf  as  the  first.  Then  start 
the  engine  and  run  up  to  speed  as  before.  If  the  weights 
do  not  open,  remove  the  fourth  leaf,  and,  if  necessary, 
the  fifth  and  sixth. 

The  object  of  the  foregoing  operations  is  to  secure 


86  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

governor-control  of  the  engine  at  some  speed  below 
the  normal,  and  at  the  same  time  obtain  a  sluggish 
regulation.  The  next  step  should  be  to  secure  correct 
adjustment  of  the  sensitiveness  of  governor,  to  give 
proper  closeness  of  regulation,  after  which  the  speed 
should  be  adjusted  to  the  desired  number  of  revolu- 
tions per  minute. 

When  the  governor-control  has  been  secured  as 
above,  the  sensitiveness  of  governor  will  probably  be 
found  to  need  increasing  by  increasing  the  length  of 
the  adjusting-pins  between  the  governor-weights  and 
the  ends  of  the  governor-springs.  The  adjusting- 
pins  should  be  gradually  lengthened  one-half  inch  at  a 
time,  until  the  proper  sensitiveness  is  reached,  always 
keeping  the  length  of  the  pins  the  same.  These  ad- 
justing-pins should  have  been  unscrewed  before  putting 
them  in  position,  and  the  length  of  the  threaded  parts 
measured,  as,  when  in  position,  at  least  ij  inches  of 
threaded  part  must  always  be  left  in  the  socket.  If 
longer  pins  are  required  than  this  will  allow,  put  in 
the  next  longer  set  of  the  tubular  parts  of  the  adjust- 
ing-pins. 

At  the  start  the  sensitiveness  of  the  governor  should 
be  made  such  that  when  the  load  is  removed  the  in- 
crease of  speeed  will  be  not  less  than  3  per  cent.  After 
the  engine  has  run  awhile  the  sensitiveness  can  be 
increased  sufficiently  to  make  the  corresponding  in- 
crease 2  per  cent.  In  determining  the  speed  of  an 
engine  always  count  the  speed  for  several  consecutive 
minutes,  and  divide  the  total  number  of  revolutions 
by  the  number  of  minutes  during  which  the  speed  is 


ENGINE   GOVERNOR  87 

counted.  The  speed-light  should  always  be  taken 
after  the  load  has  been  removed. 

In  many  cases  it  is  not  convenient  to  secure  a  load 
for  testing  the  sensitiveness  of  governor,  as  has  been 
just  described,  when  an  engine  is  first  started,  and 
generally  the  easiest  way  of  securing  a  proper  prelimi- 
nary adjustment  of  sensitiveness,  with  engines  of  small 
size,  is  to  continue  lengthening  the  adjusting-pins  until 
the  engine  "races."  Then  reduce  the  length  of  pins 
until  "racing"  ceases.  With  large  engines  it  is  fre- 
quently impossible  to  make  them  race.  In  such  cases 
an  approximate  preliminary  adjustment  of  sensitive- 
ness may  be  made,  when  not  convenient  to  secure  a 
load  for  engine,  by  lengthening  the  adjusting  pins 
until  speed  of  engine  is.  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  below 
normal. 

After  securing  a  more  or  less  perfect  adjustment  of 
sensitiveness  of  the  governor,  as  above,  bring  the  en- 
gine up  to  speed  by  reducing  the  amount  of  lead  in 
the  holes  in  the  governor,  or  the  centrifugal  weights. 
Begin  by  removing  one-half  the  lead  from  the  hole  in 
each  governor-weight  which  is  farthest  from  the  pin 
on  which  it  turns,  replacing  the  lead  removed  with  a 
similarly  shaped  piece  of  hard  wood  to  secure  the  re- 
maining lead.  The  resulting  change  in  speed  of  en- 
gine will  give  an  approximate  idea  of  how  much  should 
be  removed  to  secure  the  desired  speed,  bearing  in 
mind  that  removing  lead  from  the  holes  in  weights 
farthest  removed  from  the  pins  on  which  weights 
turn  will  affect  the  speed  three  or  four  times  as  much 
as  will  a  similar  change  in  holes  nearest  these  pins, 


88  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

and  that  the  same  amount  of  lead  should  be  kept  in 
corresponding  holes  in  each  weight.  It  is  intended 
that  the  engine  should  regulate  well  and  be  at  proper 
speed  with  every  hole  in  the  weights  about  one-half 
filled  with  lead,  but  the  effective  stiffness  of  springs 
is  quite  uncertain,  and  the  necessary  amount  of  lead 
will  vary  to  correspond.  If,  with  all  lead  weight 
out,  the  speed  is  still  too  low  with  the  governor  suf- 
ficiently sensitive,  one  or  more  leaves  must  be  added 
to  each  governor-spring,  placing  the  added  leaves 
between  the  longest  leaf  and  the  leaf  next  to  it  in 
each  case. 

FUNDAMENTAL  PRINCIPLES  FOR  REGULATING  A 
GOVERNOR 

To  make  a  governor  more  sensitive,  increase  the 
tension  in  springs  by  lengthening  the  adjusting  pins; 
to  make  it  less  sensitive,  reduce  the  tension  by  shorten- 
ing the  pins.  To  increase  speed  of  engine,  remove 
lead  weights  from  governor- weights;  to  decrease  speed, 
increase  the  amount  of  lead  in  the  weights. 

These  two  principles  should  be  studied  carefully 
until  thoroughly  understood,  as  nearly  all  failures  to 
successfully  regulate  a  governor  are  caused  by  dis- 
regarding them. 

In  this  connection,  always  remember  that  altering 
the  sensitiveness  by  changing  the  length  of  adjust- 
ing-pins, also  alters  the  speed  of  the  engine.  The  speed 
should  be  brought  back  to  that  desired  by  a  proper 
change  in  the  amount  of  lead  in  the  weights.  Chang- 


ENGINE   GOVERNOR  89 

ing  the  speed  by  changing  the  amount  of  lead  weights 
practically  does  not  affect  the  sensitiveness. 

DELAY  DASH-POTS 

Engines  designed  for  operating  directly  connected 
alternators  in  parallel  are  provided  with  patent  delay 
dash-pots;  otherwise  the  alternators  will,  under  certain 
conditions,  set  up  periodic  cross-currents  which  may 
keep  increasing  in  strength  until  the  units  are  forced 
out  of  step.  The  delay  dash-pot  prevents  this  "surg- 
ing" of  currents  with  any  generator  not  abnormally 
sensitive,  but  at  the  same  time  does  not  affect  the 
regulation  of  the  governor  for  actual  change  of  load. 
As  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  proper  action 
of  these  dash-pots  that  they  be  kept  completely  filled 
with  oil,  they  should  be  filled  every  time  the  engine 
is  shut  down. 

Directions  for  adjusting  these  patent  delay  dash- 
pots  should  be  secured,  if  necessary,  from  the  builders 
of  each  particular  engine. 

Operators  often  request  information  of  the  builders 
in  reference  to  their  left-hand  or  right-hand  governors. 
The  builders  need  some  information  from  the  opera- 
tors before  giving  full  instructions,  and  Figs.  21  and  22 
show  a  cut  of  the  data  sheets  they  desire  to  have  filled 
out.  A  study  of  these  will  enable  the  operator  to 
give  the  data  desired  without  first  sending  to  the  shops 
for  such  sheets. 


9° 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


SPEED  ....  Revs,  with  no  load. 
PLAIN  WEIGHT-ARM. 

No.  of  leaves  in  spring, .... 
Lead  weight  in  inner  hole, .... 

*A fB 

Remarks:. .  . 


FIG.   21 

||..  .Revs.  with...  H.  P.  ||. .  .Revs.  with. ..  .K.W. 
SPEED  CHANGER  WEIGHT-ARM. 

Sliding  weight  in. . .  .position. 

No.  of  leaves  in  spring, 

in  outer  hole, ....  Lead  weight  in  outer  hole,  . . . 
*A fB 


Signed, 

Date 

NOTE — Plain  governor  weight-arm  has  two  holes  which  hold  lead  weights  for  ad- 
justment of  speed.  Outer  hole  is  the  one  farthest  from  pin  on  which  arm  is 
pivoted.  Speed  changer  governor  weight-arm  has  no  inner  hole.  In  giving 
amount  of  lead  weight  in  hole,  state  what  proportion  of  hole  is  filled  with  lead, 
i.  e.,  "  half  full,"  "  quarter  full,"  etc.  FILL  OUT  THIS  REPORT  AND  RE- 
TURN TO  SHOP  AS  SOON  AS  GOVERNOR  IS  ADJUSTED  SATIS- 
FACTORILY. 

*A  =  Length  over  all  of  adjusting-pin. 

fB  =  Distance  from  center  of  weight  pin  to  center  of  spring  cup. 


ENGINE   GOVERNOR 


91 


SPEED.  .  .Revs,  with  no  load. 
PLAIN  WEIGHT -ARM. 

No.  of  leaves  in  spring, .... 
Lead  weight  in  inner  hole, . . . 

*A fB 

Remarks:. . . 


FIG.   22 


|| . .  .Revs.  with. 


in  outer  hole, , 


.H.  P.     ||...  Revs,  with K.  W. 

SPEED  CHANGER  WEIGHT-ARM. 
Sliding  weight  in. . .  .position. 

No.  of  leaves  in  spring, 

Lead  weight  in  outer  hole. ... 
*A .  .fB... 


Signed 

Date 

NOTE.  —  Plain  governor  weight-arm  has  two  holes  which  hold  lead  weights  for  ad- 
justment of  speed.  Outer  hole  is  the  one  farthest  from  pin  on  which  arm  is 
pivoted.  Speed  changer  governor  weight-arm  has  no  inner  hole.  In  giving 
amount  of  lead  weight  in  hole,  state  what  proportion  of  hole  is  filled  with  lead, 
i.e.,  "half  full,"  "quarter  full,"  etc.  FILL  OUT  THIS  REPORT  AND  RE- 
TURN TO  SHOP  AS  SOON  AS  GOVERNOR  IS  ADJUSTED  SATIS- 
FACTORILY. 

*A  =  Length  over  all  of  adjusting-pin. 

fB  =  Distance  from  center  of  weight  pin  to  center  of  spring  cup. 


IX 


ROBB-ARMSTRONG-SWEET  GOVERNOR 

A  CUT  of  the  governor  manufactured  by  the  Ames 
Iron  Works  for  use  on  their  engines  is  shown  in  Fig.  23. 
This  governor  is  placed  in  the  second  class  and  group 


ROBB-ARMSTRONG-SWEET    GOVERNOR 


93 


in  Chapter  I.  The  weight  A  is  fastened  directly  to 
the  spring  B,  which  is  secured  at  C.  The  tension  on 
the  spring  is  changed  by  taking  up  or  slackening  the 
tension-studs  D.  The  eccentric-arm  is  pivoted  at  E, 
moving  the  eccentric-pin  F,  which  changes  travel  of 
valve  and  point  of  cut-off.  The  arm  is  actuated  by 
the  spring  direct,  by  means  of  the  one  link  F,  one  end 
of  which  can  be  changed  in  its  position  by  shifting  the 
pin  into  any  one  of  the  series  of  holes  shown. 

To  increase  speed,  give  more  tension  on  the  spring. 

To  decrease  speed,  give  less  tension  on  the  spring. 

To  get  closer  regulation,  and  more  sensitiveness,  move 
the  pin  in  the  eccentric  lever  closer  to  the  shaft- 
center. 

To  make  more  sluggish  and  put  a  stop  to  racing,  move 
the  pin  in  the  lever  toward  the  rim  of  the  wheel. 

No  change  of  weight  is  provided  for,  as  the  above 
allowance  for  change  is  considered  by  the  makers  to 
be  sufficient  to  cover  all  requirements. 


THE  FITCHBURG  STEAM-ENGINE  GOVERNOR 

THE  type  of  governor  shown  in  Fig.  24  is  in  the 
second  class  of  the  first  group  of  Chapter  I,  and  is 
of  the  patent  and  manufacture  of  the  Fitchburg  Steam- 
Engine  Company,  used  on  all  engines  of  their  make. 

The  small  weights  shown  are  to  counterbalance  the 
weight  of  valves,  stems  and  eccentric,  and  are  not 
to  be  considered  in  the  adjustment  of  the  governor. 
The  weights  A,  A  are  changeable.  Adding  weight 
decreases  speed,  and  taking  it  away  increases  it.  The 
weight-arms  are  pivoted  at  B,  B,  and  are  opposed 
by  the  springs  C,  C,  which  are  attached,  as  shown, 
directly  to  the  weights. 

Tightening  the  springs,  increases  speed  and  sensitive- 
ness. 

Slackening  springs,  decreases  speed  and  sensitive- 
ness. 

These  engines  are  so  carefully  adjusted  in  the  shops 
as  to  require  little  change  of  weight.  The  principal 
changes  for  speed  and  sensitiveness  are  to  be  made  on 
the  springs. 

To  get  more  speed,  tighten  the  springs. 

To  lessen  the  speed,  slack  off  on  springs. 

To  get  more  sensitiveness,  increase  tension  on  springs; 

94 


FITCHBURG   STEAME-NGINE   GOVERNOR 


95 


or,  if  speed  is  already  attained,  increase  the  tension 
and  weight  at  the  same  time  to  keep  the  speed  at  the 
same  point. 

To  make  more  sluggish,  decrease  spring-tension,  and 


FIG.   24 

if  speed  is  right,  decrease  weight  also  to  keep  the  speed 
at  the  same  point. 

As  correct  valve  setting  is  necessary  to  good  regu- 
lation, the  following  extract  from  the  builders'  instruc- 
tions as  to  how  to  locate  the  governor-case  on  the  shaft 
will  be  of  service. 


96  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

The  location  of  the  governor-case  is  determined  by 
placing  the  engine  on  one  dead  center  and  rolling  the 
case  around  the  shaft  until  the  offset  of  the  eccentric 
is  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  shaft  from  the  crank-pin. 
Then  roll  carefully  into  such  position  that  when  (with 
the  springs  removed)  the  eccentric  is  thrown  back  and 
forth  across  the  shaft,  no  end  motion  is  given  the  valve- 
rod.  At  this  place  tighten  the  governor-case  firmly 
upon  the  shaft  and  turn  the  engine  to  the  opposite 
dead  center,  and  again  move  the  eccentric  back  and 
forth  across  the  shaft.  If  there  is  at  this  end  any 
end  motion  to  the  valve-rod,  change  the  position  of 
the  governor-case  on  the  shaft  enough  to  make  the 
motion  just  half  as  much,  then  fasten  the  governor- 
case  firmly  in  this  final  'position  by  drilling  into  the 
shaft  for  the  point  of  the  set-screw  and  then  tighten- 
ing the  clamp-bolts  to  place  solidly.  Put  in  the  springs 
and  tighten  them  until  the  proper  number  of  revolu- 
tions is  obtained.  Be  sure  to  tighten  up  those  that 
go  through  the  counterbalance  which  hangs  nearest 
the  springs  (when  the  governor  is  at  rest)  about  three- 
fourths  of  an  inch  more  than  the  springs  on  the  other 
side. 

When  it  is  desired  to  change  the  direction  of  rota- 
tion of  a  Fitchburg  engine  a  new  eccentric  must  be 
procured  from  the  makers  and  put  on  in  place  of  the 
one  on  the  governor. 

The  ends  of  the  links  which  connect  the  weight- 
arms  must  be  changed,  on  the  counterbalance  weight- 
arm  end,  to  the  holes  opposite  those  which  they 
occupied  in  the  old  eccentric. 


XI 


THE  AMERICAN-BALL  BALANCED  AUTOMATIC 
GOVERNOR 

HEREWITH  is  illustrated  a  new  type  of  fly-wheel 
governor,  manufactured  by  the  American  Engine 
Company,  of  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.,  and  with  which  the 
American-Ball  engines  are  now  equipped.  It  is  the 
outcome  of  redesigning  the  Ball  balanced  automatic 
governor. 

In  the  new  type,  Fig  25,  two  features  are  embodied, 
one  being  the  method  of  establishing  a  gravity  balance, 
and  the  other  the  arrangement  and  relation  of  the 
springs,  of  which  there  are  two.  A  second  arm  is 
provided  in  the  governor,  as  shown  in  Figs.  26  and  27, 
which  is  so  pivoted  that  its  center  of  gravity  prac- 
tically coincides  with  the  center  of  the  shaft,  and  there- 
fore cannot  develop  centrifugal  force.  The  arm  B  is 
pivoted  at  the  most  desirable  point  for  determining 
the  path  of  motion  of  the  valve-actuating  pin,  the 
second  arm  B  being  so  connected  to  the  centrifugal 
governor  that  the  gravity  of  one  is  always  opposed 
by  the  gravity  of  the  other  at  every  position  of  the 
governor-wheel.  By  this  arrangement  the  centrif- 
ugal force  of  the  governing-arm,  under  the  control 
of  the  spring,  governs  the  engine,  and  the  disturbing 

97 


98 


SHAFT    GOVERNORS 


gravitation  of  the  arm  is  balanced  by  the  opposing 
gravity  of  the  second  arm,  which  has  practically  no 
centrifugal  force. 

Attention  is  especially  directed  to  the  arrangement 
of  the  double  springs  for  the  prevention  of  the  trouble- 


PIG.   25 

some  swaying  characteristic  of  a  single  spring,  when 
used,  due  to  the  centrifugal  force  and  gravitation. 
These  springs  are  convenient  for  slight  adjustments 
for  the  difference  in  speed  at  the  several  points  of 
cut-off. 

Should  the  speed  decrease  under  load  more  than  is 
desirable,  this  fault  may  be  corrected  by  slacking  the 


AUTOMATIC   GOVERNOR  99 

spring  C  and  tightening  the  spring  D  which  makes  the 
governor  more  nearly  isochronous.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  action  of  the  governor  is  unstable,  slacking  the 
spring  D  and  tightening  the  spring  C  will  correct  it. 


FIG.   26 

For  slight  changes  of  speed,  the  nut  F  may  be  tight- 
ened or  slacked,  but  for  a  considerable  change  of 
speed  it  is  necessary  to  add  to  or  take  from  the 
weight  in  the  pocket  E  of  arm  A. 

In  Figs.  28  and  29  are  shown  the  parts  of  which  the 
governor  is  composed.     It  will  be  seen  that  the  gov- 


100 


SHAFT    GOVERNORS 


ernor-weight  or  arm  A  is  provided  with  a  brass  bushing 
G,  in  which  three  oil  grooves  are  cut  which  permit  of 
freely  lubricating  the  steel-governor  weight-stud  H. 
The  arm  A  is  connected  to  the  eccentric  carrier  arm  B 


FIG.  27 

by  means  of  the  governor  link  /,  which  is  fitted  with 
graphite  bushings  K  and  held  in  place  by  the  gov- 
ernor link-pin  L.  The  eccentric  carrier  arm  is  fitted 
with  a  cast-iron  bushing  M,  which  is  quite  suitable, 
there  being  so  little  movement  at  this  point  that  a 
bushing  of  special  material  is  unnecessary.  At  the 


AUTOMATIC   GOVERNOR 


101 


IO2 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


AUTOMATIC   GOVERNOR  103 

point  0  in  the  boss  on  the  arm  A,  a  tempered  knife- 
edge  P  is  inserted.  Three  notches  are  filed  in  the  hole 
so  that  the  knife-edge  will  fit  snugly  and  not  turn.  On 
this  knife-edge  is  suspended  the  governor-spring  eye- 
bolt  R,  in  the  eye  of  which  is  fitted  a  piece  of  tempered 
tool-steel  at  Rl,  which  wears  on  the  tempered  knife- 
edge.  This  eye-bolt  is  threaded  at  the  opposite  end, 
over  which  is  fitted  the  governor-screw  spring-clip  Z, 
which  is  held  in  place  by  a  nut  and  lock-nut.  The 
springs  C  and  D,  Figs.  26  and  27,  are  screwed  into  the 
spring-eyelet  T  at  one  end  and  the  spring-screw  U  at 
the  other. 

The  arm  A  has  two  lugs  cast  on  it  at  V  and  Wt  in 
which  are  fitted  a  piece  of  round  fiber,  which,  coming 
in  contact  with  the  lug  X  on  the  governor-wheel,  fixes 
a  limit  to  the  movement  of  the  arm  A. 

These  governors  are  made  for  engines  running  over, 
unless  ordered  otherwise,  although  provisions  have 
been  made  for  permitting  of  changing  to  governors 
running  in  the  opposite  direction.  If,  for  instance,  an 
engine  were  equipped  with  a  right-hand  governor  so 
that  it  ran  over,  and  it  was  desired  to  operate  the  en- 
gine in  the  opposite  direction,  it  would  be  necessary 
to  drill  holes  for  the  arrangement  of  the  proper  pins 
and  springs  as  shown  in  Fig.  27.  The  position  of  the 
governor  would  then  become  reversed  and  the  engine 
would  operate  in  the  reversed  direction. 


XII 

CURTIS  STEAM  TURBINE  GOVERNORS 

THE  General  Electric  Company,  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  Curtis  Turbine,  uses  a  governor  of  the  spring- 
loaded  fly-ball  type  on  the  main  shaft,  and  necessarily 
operating  at  the  same  speed  without  the  introduction 
of  intermediaries.  The  movement  of  this  governor 
actuates  the  device  controlling  the  valves  admitting 
the  steam  to  the  turbine.  The  assembly  of  these  tur- 
bines with  the  governor  at  17  and  the  valves  it  con- 
trols at  1 8  is  shown  in  Fig.  30.  A  detail  view  of  this 
governor  is  shown  in  Fig.  31.  A  certain  percentage 
of  the  spring  effect  is  carried  in  a  small  spring  under 
the  control  of  a  motor  operated  from  the  switch-board, 
for  the  purpose  of  varying  the  speed  of  the  turbine  in 
order  to  synchronize  with  other  machines. 

Referring  to  this  figure  the  following  is  a  list  of  the 
various  parts  of  a 

MAINE  TURBINE  GOVERNOR 

1 .  Governor  bracket.  6.     Nut  for  upper  end  of  stud  — 

2.  Stud  for  frame.  with  lock  washer. 

3.  Middle  plate.  7.     Strap  for  studs. 

4.  Top  plate.  8.     Bolt   for  strap  —  with   nut 

5.  Nut  for  lower  end  of  stud  —  and  locker  washer. 

with  lock  washer.  9.     Fulcrum  block. 

104 


CURTIS   STEAM   TURBINE   GOVERNORS 


105 


10.  Guide  roller  block.  34. 

11.  Bolt  for  fulcrum  and  roller 

blocks  —  with     nut    and      35. 
lock  washer. 

12.  Guide  roller — with  pin  and      36. 

cotters.  37. 

13.  Governor  weight. 

14.  Knife-edge     block  —  with      38. 

screws.  39. 

15.  Hook  —  with  screws. 

1 6.  Plug  for  balance  pocket.  40. 

17.  Yoke  for  links. 

18.  Links.  41. 

19.  Universal  joint. 

20.  Lower  governor  plug.  42. 

21.  Upper  governor  plug. 

22.  Governor  spring. 

23.  Key  for    upper   plug   with      43. 

screws. 

24.  Adjusting    nut    for    upper      44. 

Plug-  45- 

25.  Connection  rod. 

26.  Gimball  transmission  bear-       46. 

ing. 

27.  Ball  races  for  Gimball  bear-      47. 

ings,  upper  and  lower.  48. 

28.  Gimball  pivot  —  for  box.  49. 

29.  Gimball  pivot  —  for  beam. 

30.  Bushing  for  pivots.  50. 

31.  Gimball  ring.  51. 

32.  Beam. 

33.  Dome  —  with  bolts.    . 


Cover  plate  for  dome  — 
with  cap  screws. 

Bearing  bracket  for  dome 
—  with  bolts. 

Spindle  for  roller  bearing. 

Rollers  for  bearing.  (Num- 
ber.) 

Bushing  for  bearing. 

Pin  for  attaching  synchro- 
nizing connection  to  beam. 

Connection  for  synchroni- 
zing spring. 

Upper  plug  for  synchroni- 
zing spring. 

Synchronizing  spring  (give 
dia.  spring,  dia.  wire,  ac- 
tive turns). 

Traveling  nut  for  syn- 
chronizing spring. 

Limit  switch. 

Synchronizing  motor  (Se- 
ries d.  c.  —  Give  rating). 

Worm  for  synchronizing 
gear. 

Bracket  for  worm. 

Worm  wheel. 

Cap  for  synchronizing 
screw. 

Synchronizing  screw 

Bracket  for  synchronizing 
gear — with  bolts. 


io6 


SHAFT   GOVERNORS 


FIG.  30 


CURTIS   STEAM   TURBINE   GOVERNORS          107 


FIG.  31 

OPERATION  OF  GOVERNOR  EXPLAINED 

By  referring  to  Fig.  32  the  following  explanation 
of  the  governor-action  will  be  made  plain. 

The  governor-bracket,  holding  the  weights  and  spring, 
revolves  with  them  and  the  shaft.  The  shaft  extends 
up  through  the  bracket  at  H.  '  The  spindle  C  revolves 
with  the  bracket  and  swivels  in  the  end  of  the  beam, 
which  is  stationary.  The  motion  of  this  beam  is 
transmitted  through  the  rod  D  (Fig.  33)  to  the  arm 
G  and  to  the  pilot  valve  of  the  oil  cylinder  B,  contain- 
ing the  piston  A,  which  actuates  the  main  arm.  The 


io8 


SHAFT    GOVERNORS 


main  arm  transmits  the  motion,  either  by  means  of  a 
rack  connecting  with  a  pinion  or  by  means  of  cranks, 
to  the  rod  carrying  the  cams.  These  cams  act  directly 


FIG.  32 

on  the  valves,  opening  and  closing  the  number  called 
for  by  the  condition  of  the  load. 

In  Fig.  32  the  governor  is  shown  at  rest,  in  position 
for  full  admission  of  steam  to  the  turbine.  The 
weight  rests  on  the  stop  /,  which  corresponds  to 
the  inner  stop  of  the  weights  of  a  shaft  governor.  The 
weights  are  fastened  over  a  knife-edge  to  the  links  at 
J,  ] ,  and  have  their  fulcrum  over  the  edges  K,  K. 
The  links  hold  to  the  yoke  in  the  bottom  of  the  spring, 


CURTIS   STEAM   TURBINE   GOVERNORS 


109 


and  the  other  end  of  the  spring  is  fastened  to  the  top 
plate  by  means  of  the  plug  and  adjusting  nut.  The 
weights  act  centrifugally,  and  as  they  fly  out  from 


FIG.  33 


the  center  they  push  against  the  edges  K,  K,  and 
pull  against  the  edges  /,  /. 
With  this  governor  as  with  shaft-spring  governors, 


IIO  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

tightening  the  spring  increases  speed,  and  slackening 
it,  decreases  the  speed.  To  tighten  the  spring  of  this 
governor  screw  down  on  the  adjustment  nut  L  (Fig. 
32),  to  slacken  the  spring,  slack  off  on  the  nut. 

To  increase  the  sensitiveness  or  decrease  the  regula- 
tion of  this  governor,  increase  the  number  of  working 
coils  in  the  main  spring,  keeping  initial  tension  the 
same. 

To  make  the  governor  less  sensitive,  or  increase  the 
regulation,  decrease  the  number  of  working  coils  in 
the  main  spring. 

For  the  purpose  of  changing  the  regulation  through 
a  small  range,  the  weights  are  provided  with  pockets 
for  loading.  Increasing  the  weight  decreases  the  regu- 
lation and  vice  versa.  Any  change  in  the  weight  re- 
quires a  corresponding  change  in  the  initial  tension  of 
the  main  spring  in  order  to  maintain  the  proper  speed. 


XIII 

CHANGING  THE  SPEED  OF   PENDULUM 
GOVERNORS* 

AN  old  engine  was  brought  to  a  machine-shop  to  be 
thoroughly  repaired.  When  it  was  nearly  ready  to 
set  up  the  question  of  its  future  speed  was  presented, 
and  it  was  decided  to  run  it  65  revolutions  per  minute. 
An  engineer  who  had  had  charge  of  this  engine  several 
years  before  was  consulted,  and  he  reported  that  its 
former  speed  was  75  revolutions  per  minute.  From 
this  fact,  in  connection  with  measurements  made  to 
determine  the  diameter  of  pulleys  used  to  drive  it, 
the  speed  of  the  governor  was  calculated,  and  as  all 
men  in  charge  of  plants  do  not  understand  the  prin- 
ciples involved  in  this  and  similar  problems,  an  ex- 
planation of  the  same  will  be  given  in  a  practical  way. 

A  governor,  as  used  to  regulate  the  ordinary  Corliss, 
or  any  similar  type  of  engine,  is  illustrated  in  Fig.  34. 
In  the  case  already  referred  to,  the  crank-shaft  revolved 
75  times  per  minute,  and  the  pulley  on  it  is  9  ins.  in 
diameter  (see  2  in  the  cut).  The  governor  pulley  3  is 
12  in.  The  speed  of  governor  is  75x9  -^  12  =  56 
revolutions  per  minute. 

On  some  of  the  governors  furnished  to  users  the 

*  Contributed  to  Power  by  W.  H.  Wakeman. 
Ill 


112 


SHAFT    GOVERNORS 


speed  is  stamped,  which  is  a  great  convenience;  other- 
wise, it  is  necessary  to  determine  experimentally  the 
speed  required  to  elevate  the  balls  to  their  working 
plane. 

The  working  engineer  is  often  confused  in  regard  to 
changing  the  speed  of  engines,  because  he  fails  to  fix  in 
his  mind  the  fact  that  when  the  speed  of  a  governor 


FIG.  34 

is  once  fixed  it  remains  unchanged,  regardless  of  any 
change  made  in  the  size  of  pulleys  used  to  drive  it. 

In  a  swinging-pendulum  governor  the  centrifugal 
force  and  gravity  are  equal  at  one  point  only  in  its 
operation.  The  force  of  gravity  is  represented  by 
the  weight  of  the  balls,  and  when  they  revolve  fast 
enough  for  the  centrifugal  force  to  equal  the  weight 
the  two  forces  are  equal.  The  point  where  the  two 
forces  are  equal,  or  nearly  so,  is  fixed,  so  that  when  the 
balls  are  raised  to  the  working  plane  by  centrifugal 
force  the  governor  mechanism  is  cutting  off  the  steam 


SPEED   OF   PENDULUM   GOVERNORS  113 

at  its  minimum  point.  For  that  reason  the  same 
speed  of  governor  must  be  maintained  as  an  increase 
or  decrease  of  engine-speed  hastens  or  delays  the  cut- 
off action  beyond  the  proper  point.  If  driven  a  little 
too  fast,  it  reaches  its  highest  plane  and  shuts  off  steam 
altogether;  if  a  little  too  slow,  it  falls  to  its  lowest  plane, 
admitting  the  maximum  quantity.  If  extra  weights  are 
added  to  or  taken  from  the  governor,  if  the  tension  of 
a  spring  is  increased,  or  decreased,  or  the  reach-rods  on 
a  Corliss  engine  are  changed,  the  speed  at  which  a 
governor  must  be  driven  to  be  kept  within  its  operative 
plane  will  be  affected,  but  this  belongs  to  another  part 
of  a  subject  that  will  receive  attention  later. 

The  governor  referred  to  revolves  56  times  per  minute 
and  it  is  desired  to  run  the  crank-shaft  65  revolutions 
in  the  same  time.  Multiplying  the  speed  of  crank- 
shaft by  the  diameter  of  pulley  2  and  dividing  by  the 
speed  of  governor  shows  that  the  pulley  3  should  be 
65  x  9  -T-  56  =  10.4  in.  in  diameter. 

Where  the  pulley  3  is  to  be  retained  and  a  smaller 
one  put  on  the  crank-shaft,  the  speed  of  governor  is  to 
be  multiplied  by  the  diameter  of  pulley  and  the  product 
divided  by  the  speed  of  crank-shaft.  Then  56  x  12  -r- 
65  =  10.3  in. 

Where  a  governor  is  driven  by  gears  the  same  prin- 
ciple is  involved,  but  some  engineers  do  not  understand 
it  so,  therefore  an  illustration  will  be  given. 

Figure  35  shows  a  governor  driven  from  the  crank- 
shaft by  gears.  Here  2  represents  a  gear  on  the 
crank-shaft,  which  drives  another  gear  3  on  an  inde- 
pendent stud.  The  latter  is  twice  as  large  as  the 


H4  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

former  and  the  bevel  gears  4  and  4  are  alike,  therefore 
the  side  shaft  5  makes  one  revolution  while  the  crank- 
shaft gear  2  revolves  twice. 

The  first  two  years  that  this  engine  was  used  it  re- 
vovled  50  times  per  minute.     The  bevel-gear  at  6  has 


FIG.  35 

44  teeth  and  7  has  20,  therefore  the  speed  of  governor 
is  25  X44  «  20  =  55  per  minute. 

Suppose,  for  example,  that  the  20  gear  at  7  be  taken 
off  and  a  30  gear  be  put  in  its  place,  how  fast  will  the 
governor  run?  Some  may  figure  it  at  25  x  44  4-30  = 
36.7  times  per  minute.  It  has  been  done  so,  yet  it 
is  not  correct.  The  speed  of  the  governor  remains 
constant;  it  is  the  speed  of  the  engine  which  may  be 
changed. 

This  governor  revolves  55  times  per  minute;  the 
new  gear  at  7  has  30  teeth,  and  6  has  44,  therefore  the 
speed  of  side  shaft  5  is  55  x  30  ~  44  =  37.5  revolu- 


SPEED   OF   PENDULUM   GOVERNORS  115 

tions  per  minute.  While  5  makes  one  turn  2  revolves 
twice,  therefore  the  speed  of  engine  should  be  37.5  x 
2  =  75  revolutions  per  minute.  If  this  reasoning  is 
correct  (and  as  a  careful  count  of  the  speed  shows  it 
to  be  75)  it  proves  the  theory  to  be  right. 

Other  means  adopted  for  changing  the  speed  of 
engines  require  a  passing  notice  in  order  to  cover  the 
subject.  If  the  center-weight  4,  in  Fig.  34,  is  made 
lighter  it  will  decrease  the  speed  of  both  engine  and 
governor,  and  if  made  heavier  it  will  increase  the  same, 
because  it  will  change  the  plane  in  which  the  balls 
travel  for  a  given  speed.  Some  governors  have  hollow 
center-weights,  so  that  shot  can  be  put  in  or  taken  out 
at  pleasure.  Any  change  in  the  weights  at  5  will  have 
the  same  effect,  as  the  rod  which  supports  them  is  a 
continuation  of  the  spindle  and  collar  which  carries  4. 

This  is  a  very  convenient  plan  for  use  in  connection 
with  a  governor  that  does  not  respond  quickly  to 
changes  in  the  load;  for,  when  a  heavy  machine  is 
started  up,  another  weight  may  be  added  at  5,  and 
when  said  machine  is  stopped  the  weight  may  be  re- 
moved. This  is  a  crude  plan  when  compared  with 
modern  regulating  devices,  but  it  has  been  found  to  be 
much  better  than  none. 

The  disk  6  is  on  a  lever,  and  as  it  is  moved  nearer  to 
or  farther  from  the  fulcrum  it  changes  the  speed 
slightly.  Some  governors  are  adjustable  at  7,  so  that 
by  changing  the  length  of  arm  at  this  point,  the  speed 
is  changed.  The  reach-rod  8  may  be  made  longer  or 
shorter,  thus  making  small  changes  in  the  speed;  but 
neither  this  nor  the  plan  just  preceding  it  is  recom- 


n6  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

mended,  as  they  are  not  founded  on  desirable  prin- 
ciples, and  bring  objectionable  features  into  the  matter 
which  it  is  well  to  avoid.  When  a  governor  with  its 
connection  is  properly  set  up,  it  is  not  advisable  to 
change  either  7  or  8,  for  changes  in  the  former  may 
affect  the  sensitiveness  of  the  mechanism,  and  care- 
less adjustment  of  either  may  prevent  a  very  short 
cut-off,  and  thus  cause  trouble  in  case  all  of  the  load 
is  suddenly  thrown  off. 

SOME  CAUSES  OF  TROUBLE  WITH  THIS  TYPE  OF 
GOVERNOR 

In  almost  all  makes  of  these  governors  there  is  a 
pin  on  which  the  weights  are  brought  to  rest  when  the 
mechanism  is  not  in  action.  This  is  a  safety-pin,  or 
sometimes  a  collar,  which  prevents  the  mechanism 
from  falling  so  low  that  no  steam  will  be  admitted. 
This  pin,  or  collar,  is  so  placed  that  when  the  engine 
is  at  rest  it  will  get  steam.  When  the  engine  is  in  full 
operation  the  pin  is  removed  or  the  collar  so  turned 
that,  should  the  belt  or  gear  break,  the  mechanism 
would  drop  so  low  as  to  cut  off  all  steam  and  a  shut- 
down results. 

In  plants  where  heavy  and  changing  loads  are 
handled,  it  is  not  uncommon  for  one  to  come  on  so 
heavy  as  to  make  the  mechanism  drop  low  enough  to 
shut  off  steam,  if  the  operator  has  attended  to  his  duty 
of  removing  the  pin  or  setting  the  safety  collar  after 
starting  up.  The  result  is  a  shut-down,  and  it  may 
confuse  the  inexperienced  operator  till  the  lesson  is 


SPEED   OF   PENDULUM    GOVERNORS  117 

learned  and  he  knows  the  cause.  Always  look  at 
the  "safety"  when  a  shut-down  occurs  out  of  the  usual 
time. 

Some  governor  pulleys  are  secured  to  the  shaft  with 
a  set-screw  which  may  come  loose,  or  a  key  even  may 
work  loose.  The  pulley  may  hold  just  enough  to 
slowly  rotate  the  governor  but  not  fast  enough  to 
bring  it  up  to  speed.  The  result  will  be  a  runaway 
engine.  An  oily  or  slack  governor-belt  may  also  cause 
this. 

The  following  experience  illustrates  another  cause 
of  trouble  with  governors. 

On  a  14  x  36  Corliss  engine  of  from  90  to  140  H.  P., 
an  overload  would  cause  the  steam  to  follow  full  stroke, 
as  the  steam-valves  would  not  trip  and  cut-off.  The 
governor,  after  going  down  until  the  tripping  cams 
did  not  touch  and  trip  the  latches,  would  have  a  hard 
struggle  to  rise  again  to  a  point  where  the  tripping 
would  recommence.  It  seemed  that  the  force  required 
to  trip  the  latches  was  so  great  that  the  engine  speed 
necessary  to  give  the  governor  the  needed  power  had 
to  be  greatly  accelerated,  and  in  going  through  this 
part  of  the  performance  the  governor  would  dance 
violently  with  every  movement  of  the  trip-rods.  These 
conditions  produced  racing,  or  rather,  "hunting." 

The  latches,  or  hook-plates,  had  a  catch  surface  of 
J  of  an  inch  and  tripped  very  stiffly.  Thicker  leathers 
were  placed  in  the  hooks,  so  they  did  not  overlap  the 
plate  on  the  valve-crank  so  far,  reducing  the  catch 
surface  to  TV  of  an  inch.  At  present  the  governors  are 
doing  their  work  satisfactorily,  but  during  two  and  a 


n8  SHAFT   GOVERNORS 

half  years  the  corners  have  been  worn  completely  off 
the  latches  and  blocks  five  times.  Of  course  this  is 
due  to  the  very  small  amount  of  catch  surface  allowed. 
The  blocks  and  latches  are  as  hard  as  any,  but  the 
decreased  area  of  contact,  with  increased  pressure  on 
the  plates,  causes  the  increased  wear.  This  is  the  sac- 
rifice necessary  to  get  earlier  cut-off  and  greater  steam 
economy.  This  is  a  case  where  the  strain  on  catch- 
blocks  must  be  reduced  to  assist  the  governor  in  its 
work. 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Action  of  simple  governor  of  revolving  pendulum  type    9 

Adjusting  governor  of  new  engine    84 

Alternators,  operating  in  parallel    89 

American-Ball  balanced  automatic  governor    97 

Engine  Co 97 

Patent  Office 14 

Ames  Iron  Works    92 

Appleton's  Encyclopaedia  of  Applied  Mechanics 3 

Arago,  M 9 

Arm,  motion,  Rites  governor 34 

Automatic  engines,  economy 13 

Auxiliary  spring  adjustments,  Buckeye  governor 49 

springs,  Buckeye  governor 52 

weight,  Mclntosh   &  Seymour  governors    84 

Ball  balanced  automatic  governor    97 

Balls,  governor,  position 10 

Buckeye  engine 3,  18 

engine  governor  and  its  adjustments    42 

governor „ 19 

construction 42 

data    44 

Bunnell,  S.  H 33 

Cahill,  R.  E 33 

Care  of  governor   78 

Carpenter,  R.  C i 

Catch  surface  of  hook-plates  too  small    117 

Centennial  engine    14 

Exposition,  shaft  governor 3,  5 

119 


120  INDEX 

PAGE 

Centrally  balanced  centrifugal  inertia  type  of  governor 74 

Centrifugal  force  8,  n,  15,  17,  18,  19,  20,  25,  31,  34,  38,  44,  47,  62,  82, 
97,  98,  112 

governor,  Ide  Co 71 

weights 81 

Centripetal  force,  definition  25 

friction 60 

Cleaning  governor 28,  79 

Clock  set  in  motion  by  steam  engine  9 

Compound  time-delay  dash-pots 83 

Constant  centripetal  friction  6r 

Corliss  engine n 

engine,  changing  reach-rods 113 

regulating  in 

valve-gears 33 

Curtis  steam  turbine  governors 104 

Custer  governor 19 

J.  D 17 

J.  D.,  patent  for  shaft  governor .  15,  16 

Dash-pots  79,  82,  83,  89 

Decreasing  speed  56 

Definitions,  general 25 

Delay  dash-pots  83,  89 

Development  of  steam  engine 7 

Direction  of  motion,  changing  . 65 

of  rotation,  changing 30,  103 

Distance  from  pivot  to  weight 27 

of  weight  from  fulcrum 27 

Dry  parts  cause  of  trouble 28,  29 

Dynamic  friction  60 

Early  patents  of  shaft  governor 14 

Economy  of  automatic  engines 13 

Eikenberry,  Lewis,  patent  for  shaft  governor 16 

Engines,  automatic,  economy    13 


INDEX  121 

PAGE 

regulation    14 

speed    26 

steam,  development 7 

literature   i 

throttling   13 

Equation  for  action  of  governor 9 

Evolution  of  shaft  governors i 

Faulty  regulation,  correcting 35 

Fitchburg  engine,  changing  direction  of  rotation 96 

steam-engine  governor 94 

Steam- Engine  Co 94 

Fleming  engine  governors,  adjustment 74 

Fly-wheel  governor    97 

-wheel,  heavy    12 

Friction    82 

cause  of  racing 26 

of  trouble 58,  59 

centripetal 60 

dynamic 60 

retarding  effect 1 1 

static 60 

Fundamental  principles  for  regulating  governor    88 

Gear-driven  governor,  speed    113 

General  Electric  Co 104 

Generators,  large,  parallel  operation    83 

Governor,  action    9 

automatic,  American-Ball 97 

balls,  position  10 

Buckeye 42 

care  of 78 

-case,  location 96 

cleaning 28,  79 

connection 13 

data,  Buckeye 44 


122  INDEX 

PAGE 

sheets  89-91 

early  form  8 

Fitchburg  steam-engine 94 

fundamental  principles  for  regulating    88 

Mclntosh,  Seymour  &  Co.'s 80 

of  new  engine,  adjusting 84 

oiling 28,  79 

pendulum    2,  3,  25 

"  racing  " 73 

revolving  pendulum  type    9,  1 1 

Rites 33 

Robb-Armstrong-Sweet 92 

sensitiveness    61,  73,  76,  82,  86,  87,  88,  93,  94,  no 

shaft ^ 25 

at  Centennial  Exposition    5 

classes 19 

construction 1 1 

evolution    i 

sluggish    26,  67,  76 

Straight-Line  engine    -      67 

throttling   1 1 

Watt's    8 

Gravity    9,  10,  26,  1 1 2 

balance,  establishing 97 

effect 39,  98 

Hammering  on  stops 40 

Harrisburg  Foundry  and  Machine  Works  74 

governors,  springs  76 

Heavy  fly-wheel 12 

High-speed  engines 33 

speed  of  rotation 14 

Hoadley  engine 18 

John  C 18 

Hook-plates,  catch  surface  too  small  117 

"Hunting"  of  engine  26,  117 


INDEX  123 

PAGE 

Ide  &  Sons  Co.,  A.  L 70 

Ideal  engine  governors    70 

Inertia   12,  31 

definition  25 

effect 14,  19,  38 

Intermittent  centripetal  friction 61 

Irregular  motion 13 

Irregularity 39 

Isochronal,  definition  .  . . 25 

Knight's  Mechanical  Dictionary 2 

Lap  of  valve 36,  37,  41 

Latches,  catch-surface  too  small 117 

Leaky  valves 32,  37 

Literature,  steam  engine i 

Location  of  governor-case    96 

Mclntosh,  Seymour  &  Go's  engine  governor 80 

Maine  turbine  governor   104 

Medium-speed  engines    33 

Motion,  changing  direction    65 

irregular 13 

of  arm,  Rites  governor 34 

valve,  shaft  governors 19 

uniform,  of  engine n 

Muirhead,  life  of  Watt  8 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac   12 

Oiling  dash-pots 89 

governor 28,  79 

Parallel  operation  of  alternators 89 

operation  of  large  generators 83 

Patent  Office,  American 14 


124  INDEX 

PAGE 

Patents,  early,  of  shaft  governor 14 

U.  S.,  for  improvements  in  shaft  governor 22,  23 

Pendulum  governor 2,  3,  9 

governor,  causes  of  trouble 1 16 

changing  speed in 

revolving    1 1 

Perry,  Prof.  John 2 

Pin,  dry 28,  39,  41 

Position  of  governor  balls 10 

Pressure  plates,  weak   30 

"Racing"  of  engine 26,  27,  29,  57,  87 

of  governor 69,  73,  76,  93 

Reach- rod,  changing 115 

Regulating  Corliss  engine in 

governor,  fundamental  principles    88 

motion  of  engines 10 

speed  of  engines 10 

Regulation,  bad 30 

close  speed    no 

closest  possible,  with  Buckeye  governor    63 

faulty,  correcting    35 

imperfect 1 1 

Regulation  of  engines 14,  19,  50,  52,  82,  93,  95 

speed    27 

Retarding  effect  of  friction 1 1 

Revolving  pendulum  type  of  governor 9,  n 

Rites,  Frank  M 21,  33,  35 

governor,  construction 33 

Ide  Co 70 

inertia  governor,  adjusting  33 

Robb-Armstrong-Sweet  governor    92 

Rotation,  changing  direction 30,  103 

changing  direction,  Fitchburg  engine 96 

Rules,  general 25 

Runaway  engine,  cause 27,117 


INDEX 


I25 


PAGE 

Safety-pin,  cause  of  shut-down 117 

Search  for  trouble    27,  28 

Sensibility  of  shaft  governors 26,  27 

Sensitiveness  of  governor   61,  73,  76,  82,  86,  87,  88,  93,  94,  no 

Shaft  governor  at  Centennial  Exposition 3,  5 

governors,  classes , 19 

construction 1 1 

early  patents ' 14 

evolution    i 

Shut-down,  cause 117 

Slow-speed  engines    33 

Sluggish  governor 26,  67,  76,  93,  95 

Smith,  Prof.  Charles  A 3 

Speed,  adjustment  to  load 38 

changer,  Mclntosh  &  Seymour  governor 84 

Speed,  changing 55,  56,  73,  93,  94,  98,  no 

controlling 13 

determining     35,  86 

of  engine 26,  35,  36,  38,  40,  67,  82,  86,  88,  in,  112,  113,  115 

governor 113 

governor,  calculating in 

pendulum  governors,  changing    in 

rotation,  high    14 

regulation    24 

variation,  reducing 57 

"Speeding  up"  of  engine 26,  29,  32,  77 

Spring,  adjusting 36,  41 

American-Ball  governor   97,  98 

auxiliary,  Buckeye  governor 44,  46,  52 

changing    31 

Fitchburg  governor    94 

for  Harrisburg  governors    76 

-force    26,  31 

-tension 26,  27,  38,  40,  62,  94,  95,  no 

Buckeye  governor    45,  46 

changing    55,  56,  57,  67,  69,  76,  77,  113 


126  INDEX 

PAGE 

Rites  governor    34 

Stanton,  Samuel,  governor  patent 18 

Static  friction 60 

Steadiness  under  change  of  load 38 

Steam  engine,  development   7 

engine  literature i 

-lap,  insufficient 32,  37 

Rites  governor    35 

"Steam  Using;    or,  Steam  Engine  Practice"    3 

Straight-Line  engines    21 

-Line  engine  governor 6,  67 

"Surging" 83,  89 

Sweet  governor 27 

Prof.  John  E 5,  6,  14,  21,  67 

Swinging-pendulum  governor 112 

Tension,  spring    27,  38,  62,  94,  95,  no 

spring,  changing 67,  69,  76,  77,  1 13 

Thompson,  Joseph  W.,  governor  patent  18 

Throttling  engines  13 

governor 1 1 

Travel  of  valve 19 

Troubles,  cause  and  remedy  27 

with  pendulum  governors,  causes 116 

Turbine  governor,  Curtis 104 

governor,  Maine 104 

United  States  patents  for  improvements  in  shaft  governor  .  .  .22,  23 

Valve  connections,  Centennial  engine    6 

connections,  Straight-Line  engine  6 

lap 36,37.41 

leaky 32 

motion,  shaft  governors    19 

setting    29,  95 

changing    32 


INDEX  127 

PAGE 

Wakeman,  W.  H in 

Watt,  James  8 

"Weaving"  of  governor 76 

Weight 19 

amount 27 

auxiliary,  Mclntosh  &  Seymour  governor    84 

centrifugal 81 

changing  31,  37,  39,  40,  41,  55,  56,  67,  69,  73,  76,  77,  82,  88,  93,  94 

95,  no,  113,  115 

distance  from  fulcrum 27 

Fitchburg  governor   94 

-force    26 

in  gravity  balance    19 

removing  from  arm   36 

required  for  given  speed,  Buckeye  governor 47 

Westinghouse  engine 3 

governor 19 

Woodbury,  D.  A.,  governor  patent 18 

engine 18 

Wooster,  Joab  H.,  governor  patent    17 


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